Full Coverage: Information & media

30.06.2005 From T-Mobile commercials to the popular TV drama "24," images of torture abound in U.S. pop culture these days. Chalk it up to harmless bits of Hollywood imagination, or a dangerous phenomenon desensitizing Americans to the real life torture and misery taking place at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib?

30.06.2005 On Monday, June 27, the EXIT Centre organized the first of the three seminars on the subject of electronic administration, titled “eAdministration Perspective” in Banja Luka.

29.06.2005 The OSCE Mission to Serbia and Montenegro, the office of the National Commissioner for Freedom to Access Information, the Coalition for Free Access to Information and the Toplica Centre for Democracy and Human Rights, organized a round-table discussion on “Free Access to Information – Rights and Responsibilities”, in the Municipal Building in Prokuplje.

29.06.2005 "Real news is the news you and I need to keep our freedoms," correspondent and historian Richard Reeves once told a student. Public broadcasting's number one news anchor, Bill Moyers, stands up to those who, with metallic flags on their lapels, are attempting to muzzle the few in American society who are reporting the news rather than the spin.

27.06.2005

27.06.2005 MaNgo is an environmentalist NGO and media network. The goal of the network is to exchange information, with the goal to raise the awareness of the B&H citizens on importance of environmental protection.

24.06.2005 Under its “Freedom of Information – Matter of Public Interest” programme, the Media Development Centre published two issues of the “Pristap/Access” Newsletter, dedicated to the topic of access to information. The newsletter is published in Macedonian language only, and is available at MDC web-site.

24.06.2005 Journalists from Bosnia and Herzegovina can get a free information video on the Law on Free Access to Information and the Law on Slander and Libel, at the Media Centre Sarajevo. The two half-hour programmes, produced by the BORAM network, present the current situation in the implementation of the two Laws.

23.06.2005 One of the pillars of the Aarhus convention is the public information, especially if the public itself requires the information. The information process does not depend on the relation between the NGO-s and institutions or Ministries but is the duty of the institutions to give the appropriate information, and/or when is not present or accessible, they should explain the reasons, in accordance with the Law, or point out the possible source for the required information, within 45 days.

23.06.2005 "Information is the democracy’s oxigen”, somebody said at one point of time. Everybody has the right to seek, receive and spread information and ideas. Without that right, there could be no efficient control of the Government, i.e. it is increasingly difficult to have a responsible government, and increasingly easy to cover up for corruption. Without this right, it is impossible to vote freely.

These are just some of the basic terms used to justify the existence of Access to Information legislation. Access to information is increasingly treated as a basic human right. After all, Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights says:

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; the right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers

However, the right to access to information differs from the other rights related to the freedom of information, for it advocates active participation of the holders of that right, who has the right to demand the information, and not just passively wait for information to come to him/her.

In the majority of cases, this means to take the initiative, to be active, and at the same time equal in that right, regardless whether the seeker of information is an individual, or media representative.

The first right of this type was officially recognized and legislated in Sweden, some 200 years ago, and it spread later to the rest of Scandinavia, and then to the US, Europe and the rest of the world. Germany, on the other hand, still lacks a proper federal legislation.
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23.06.2005 Russian NGOs and the Elton John AIDS Foundation have teamed up, producing ads staring Sir Elton and soccer star David Beckham, with a simple message: practice safe sex. The campaign is sharp, stylish, and not scary. And it's working, health officials say.

21.06.2005 After a year and a half of waiting, the “Eko-Misija” environmental association finally received the information it sought from the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning, under the provisions of the Aarhus Convention on Free Access to Information on Environmental Issues.

21.06.2005 After a year and a half of waiting, the “Eko-Misija” environmental association finally received the information it sought from the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning, under the provisions of the Aarhus Convention on Free Access to Information on Environmental Issues.

20.06.2005 Les membres de l'IFEX attirent l'attention sur le Code pénal algérien, que les autorités invoquent pour incarcérer les journalistes qui couvrent d'un ?il critique le gouvernement et les forces armées. Au cours de la dernière semaine, au moins quatre d'entre eux ont été reconnus coupables de diffamation pénale et trois se sont vu infliger des peines d'emprisonnement. Il y a encore des centaines d'autres affaires pendantes contre les journalistes.

17.06.2005 At a Baghdad conference this week, over 200 Iraqi journalists demanded greater press freedom in the war-torn country. Working under dangerous conditions, Iraqi and foreign journalists shared their experiences, including being targeted by both insurgents and Coalition forces.

13.06.2005 On top of immediate funding cuts, Congress may eliminate all funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting within two years--devastating shows like Sesame Street and Reading Rainbow, as well as local programming. If educational and children's programming are important to you, let your Congresspeople know.

09.06.2005 A Fundação Banco do Brasil (FBB) realiza a terceira edição do Prêmio de Tecnologia Social. Através do concurso, a instituição identificará soluções efetivas de transformação social aplicadas em uma determinada região para levá-las a outros pontos do País. Podem participar instituições sem fins lucrativos e empresas que desenvolvam tecnologias sociais voltadas à comunidade. As fichas de inscrição estarão no site www.fundacaobancodobrasil.org.br até o dia 30 de junho.

08.06.2005 Tamara Luksic - Orlandic, Coordinator of the Open Society Fund Serbia and the Coalition for Free Access to Information talked to OneWorld SEE about the importance of the Law on Free Access to Information, the role played by the NGOs and the activities of the Coalition.

02.06.2005 Should publicly-funded knowledge remain easily accessable and sharable? In May 2005 -- which saw the launch of Creative Commons South Africa -- that country discussed important issues related to the production and consumption of knowledge.

01.06.2005 A writ petition has been filed before the Nepalese apex court by the Managing Director of Communication Corner Pvt Limited, Gopal Guragai, seeking the court's interim order to repeal the government's order banning the organisation producing news items for FM radio stations in Nepal.