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2 August 2013

Round Table Discussion “Open Government Partnership and Citizens Participation”

On 29th July, 2013, the round table discussion on Open Government Partnership and citizens participation, initiated by the Ministry of Justice was organized by the USAID, G-3 program and Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) in the framework of the Inter-Agency Coordination Council on Anti-Corruption and Good Governence of Georgia. The main goal of the meeting was to introduce international tendencies under the Open Government Partnership as well as developi

2 August 2013

Public Discussion on “Freedom of Information & Citizens Participation”, held in Kutaisi

On 27 July 2013, local non-governmental organizations, mass-media representatives and active citizens tool part in the public discussion, held at the USAID Kutaisi Center for Civic Engagement. Open discussions are planned in the framework of the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) and the USAID, G-3 Program consortium project Improving of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Increasing Public Awareness on FOIA. The project aims at promoting establis

2 August 2013

The right of access to information in the European Union institutions and the role of the European Ombudsman

The article will discuss the scope of the legislation, the restrictions of the right to receive information and its procedural guarantees as well as the role of the European Ombudsman in the effective implementation of the right of access to information and the latest cases decided by the European Ombudsman in this area.

23 July 2013

24th July Round Table on Proactive Disclosure of Public Information

On July 24th, 2013 the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI), with support of the USAID Good Governance in Georgia (G-3) Program organized a round table: Proactive Disclosure of Public Information and invited NGOs, experts and Mass-media representatives working in the field of freedom of Information. The Round table was welcomed by Maia Gogoladze, USAID, G-3 Program Deputy Chief of Party,. She in general introduced the IDFI/ USAID, G-3 project Improving of

19 July 2013

Decree “About the Necessary Measures for the Implementation of the Action Plan of Georgia for the Open Government Partnership”

The Government of Georgia published an official decree “about the necessary measures for the implementation of the action plan of Georgia for the Open Government Partnership”, in which it took into account the recommendations developed by the Civil Society of Georgia, led by IDFI, regarding the action plan of Georgia, sent to the Prime Minister of Georgia on February 5th, 2012.

10 July 2013

Principles to Consider: Rural Estonian E-Participation and Internet Accessibility

Estonia is a post-Soviet Baltic nation of 1.3 million people, with Russia located on its Eastern border. The past ten years have seen Estonia implement comprehensive e-Government policies providing quality internet access to 70% of rural citizens (Statistics Estonia, 2012). In 2012, Estonia was the highest ranked post-Soviet country in e-Government capabilities by the UN Public Administration Program at 20th overall.

5 July 2013

Conference on Open Government Partnership Gathered the Representatives of NGOs and Experts from Seven Countries

On April 25th, 2013, the National Security Archive (George Washington University, DC) and the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) organized a two-day conference in the Kopala Hotel in Tbilisi, Georgia.

24 June 2013

Presentation of Final Results of the Project “Development of e-Participation in Georgia”

Institute for Development of Freedom of Information in cooperation with the Center for Post Soviet Studies will present the final results of monitoring of official Facebook and web-pages of public institutions on June 25th, Tuesday, at Courtyard Marriot. Presentation will cover the concept of citizen platform www.ichange.ge, rating of public institutions according to the communication mechanisms of their e-resources and recommendations for improving bilateral communication be

29 May 2013

Public Discussion - Citizen Engagement Platform www.ichange.ge.

On May 29, at 13:00 IDFI conducted public discussion and introduced its own concept of citizen engagement platform www.ichange.ge. Georgian government has taken an obligation to create citizen platform www.ichange.ge by 2013 in the frames of Open Government Partnership initiative action plan. IDFI studied the experience of some of the countries (the USA, Great Britain, Bahrain, Kazakhstan, Germany, Estonia), analyzed their e-platforms and elaborated its own concept. Discussion was att

28 May 2013

IDFI Signed an Ethical and Quality Standards Document

On May 21, 16 Georgian Think Tanks signed an Ethical and Quality Standards Document. The document presents comprehensive standards to guide the work of Georgian think tanks and establishes principles to ensure that the think tanks meet the highest possible professional standards. The ethical code covers organizational themes such as transparency, accountability and governance, while the quality standards focuses on research, analysis, and advocacy processes. At the sig