The goal of Sunshine Week — March 15-21 this year with related events occurring throughout the month — is to promote a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information. Participants include news media, civic groups, libraries, nonprofits, schools and others interested in the public’s right to know. Here’s a look at how NEFAC can help you celebrate the occasion while defending your right to know about government.
COMMENTARY
NEFAC offers a broad range of commentary and expert opinions on open government concerns across the region. Have a story you would like to discuss with us? Email NEFAC Executive Director Justin Silverman at justin@nefac.org.
Here is a sampling of where our Sunshine Week commentary appeared last year:
• Mass. Lawmakers Don’t Have to Follow the Public Records Law. Few of Them Say That Should Change.
• Maine Has Spent Millions to Digitize Court Records — and They’re Still Mostly Not Online
• Insular Legislature Reinforces Vital Role of Sunshine Week
PROGRAMS AND PRESENTATIONS
New Hampshire Right to Know Workshop
March 19 | NH Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College | 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Presented by NEFAC, The Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications and the Granite State News Collaborative.
As part of national Sunshine Week, this in-person workshop is designed to help residents better understand how open government works and how to access public information themselves. Please bring a laptop or mobile device.
Led by journalists and community experts, participants will learn:
- The basics of New Hampshire’s Right-to-Know laws
- How to draft a public records request
- How journalists locate and use public records
- How advocacy plays a role in government transparency
Sunshine Fest
March 16-17 | Washington D.C.
NEFAC will be at Sunshine Fest to celebrate government transparency. The program — coordinated by the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communication — will bring together journalists, record custodians, policy makers, historians, state FOI coalitions, librarians, academics, civil society nonprofit groups, commercial data providers, and all other constituencies who care about transparency at the local, state, federal and global levels of government. Join us!