Freedom of Information Center of Armenia.

September 28 is the International Right to Know Day. 

On 28 September, 2006 the Freedom of Information Center will organize Freedom of Information Conference and Annual Award Ceremony/2006 devoted to the International Right to Know Day. The events are supported by OSCE office in Yerevan and USAID/Armenia.

This initiative aims at promoting freedom of information in Armenia, in particular:

1. To summarize implementation practice of the Armenian FOI Law in 2005-2006, to evaluate achievements and failures as well as to outline future steps necessary to take for the practice improvement.
2. To discuss FOI Litigation practice, challenges and lessons learnt, and develop a strategy for further development of the legal protection of the Right to Know.
3. To publicly celebrate the International Right to Know Day. It will highly encourage the state institutions to become positive examples exercising transparently and openly before the public.
4. Wider and more public awareness on FOI will be achieved through the wide coverage of the events. The country wide media coverage will provide the public with basic knowledge about their access to information right, and its' tight link with other human rights.

During the forth Freedom of Information Award Ceremony/2006 the following nominations will be awarded:

• Positive award for institution with the best system of providing information,
• Award for NGO, which has contributed to the exercising of the rights of access to information,
• Award for the journalist most actively covering FOI issues,
• Award for the citizen most actively exercising his/her right to have access to government held information,
• The best official web site from the point of view of freedom of information,

• Negative award for an institution, which does not fulfill its obligations in under the FOI law,
• Negative award for an institution providing false information.

The nominees will be selected by an independent JURY represented by heads of 9 local NGOs functioning in the field.
 
Representatives of central and local government, national courts, international organizations, private organizations with public functions, media and NGOs will  participate in the events (in total 60 people).