Project
Access to Information Forum
September 2019 – August 2022

With the financial support of the Active Citizens Fund Bulgaria under the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area

The project ACCESS TO INFORMATION FORUM is implemented with the financial support of EUR 179 507 provided by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway under the EEA Financial Mechanism.

The main goal of the project is enhanced transparency and accountability of public institutions.

The project length is 36 months (till August 2022) and aims to provide for an appropriate environment for discussion of implementation problems with the Access to Public Information Act (APIA) and to contribute to the achievement of the international standards in access to information by the public bodies at a national and local level. The FORUM will also provide a space for debates, research and good models for the administration, as well for NGOs and citizens.

Activities:

On the base of the accumulated 23 years of experience in advocacy for access to information and encouragement for the exercise of the right to information, the Access to Information Programme will:

• Take active part in the public discussion of draft normative acts and national policies related to the access to public information, prepare and submit legal statements and present its position within the public consultation process;
• Perform annual Civil Audit on Active Transparency on 265 municipalities and 300 central government bodies and their territorial units and publicly present the audit results;
• Analyze the legislative initiatives and the access to information provision practices and formulate recommendations for their improvement in the annual report Access to Information in Bulgaria;
• Assist the raising of awareness and the active exercise of the right to information by the organization and holding of the annual awards ceremonies on the International Right to Know Day – 28 September;
• Present the accumulated experience of the Access to Public Information Act implementation at the International Conference TWENTY YEARS OF APIA – LESSONS LEARNT AND FUTURE CHALLENGES in July 2020;
• Contribute to the better implementation of the access to information provision obligations by holding 26 Access to Information Days in the regional cities in the country;
• Provide for publicity and dissemination if the project results and achievements on specialized website Access to Information Forum: www.ATIforum.net

Results:

2019 Right to Know Day Awards Ceremony On September 28, 2019 FOI activists from Sofia and the country gathered at the Literature club Peroto (The Quill) in the National Palace of Culture – Sofia to celebrate the 17th Right to Know Day Awards Ceremony. Among the guests were partner NGOs, journalists, academia, officials from executive bodies and municipalities. The Ombudsman of the Republic of Bulgaria, Ms. Diana Kovacheva took part and addressed the audience. The 2019 Right to Know Day Awards Jury selected the winners in six categories out of 33 nominations received through the special web site www.RightToKnowDay.net, AIP e-mail or sent by AIP coordinators in the country. The nominations represent FOI success stories of citizens, NGOs, and journalists. The Right to Know Day Awards Ceremony was the launch event of the project ACCESS TO INFORMATION FORUM.