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25 April 2013

International Conference about Freedom of Information and Open Government Partnership

On 26-27 April a conference dedicated to the issues of open government partnership and freedom of information will take place in Tbilisi. The conference was organized by the National Security Archive (George Washington University, US) and IDFI (Institute for Development of Freedom of Information). The representatives of nongovernmental and human rights organizations from seven countries - United States, Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Ukraine and Georg

22 April 2013

IDFI Data in the Report of the U.S. Department of State

U. S Department of State has published itsannual Report on Human Rights Practices. The most important human rights problems reported during the year 2012 in Georgia were: violation of the rights of prisoners, lack of independence in the Court and the problems of internally displaced persons. Apart from these problems, the report paid attention to the cases of corruption and lack of transparency in the Government of Georgia. The document also mentions the matter of the new Parliam

17 April 2013

Open Discussion - Universal Healthcare Program: Expectations and Reality

On April 15th, 2013 a discussion about Universal Healthcare Program: Expectations and Reality in the frameworks of the Discussions after a working day project of the German Adult Education Association dvv international. The goal of the project is to raise public awareness and form an active public position. Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) became the partner of the project in 2013. The director of the National Center for Disease Control and Pub

9 April 2013

Past Legacy of a New State

IDFI is working on a new project that intends to analyze the events that took place in 1989-1991 in Georgia. The project - Past Legacy of a New State - is being implemented with the financial support of dvv international. Even 20 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union the last years of the existence of USSR and the first years of the independence of Georgia practically have not been researched. The topic does not find adequate coverage in school textbooks and sci

3 April 2013

IDFI Discusses Improvements to Georgian Government Websites

On April 2, the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) met with public relations professionals from nearly 20 Georgian ministries to discuss the effectiveness of the governments electronic communication platforms. IDFI presented its research about the topic and identified strategies to improve the e-communication of public institutions. IDFI analyzed the e-participation mechanisms on the webpages of 23 Georgian public institutions, inc

2 April 2013

The Response of the Chancellery of the Government of Georgia to the Recommendations of the Civil Society

On March 22nd IDFI received a letter dated March 19th from the Chancellery of the Government of Georgia which contained a response to the recommendations of the civil society, which were sent to the Office of the Prime Minister from the CSOs on February 5th.

29 March 2013

Sweden: EU data bill threatens transparency

By Nikolaj Nielsen BRUSSELS - Swedens ministry of justice says the EUs draft data protection law could upset the delicate balance between transparency and privacy in its own national law on access to documents. With a regulation there is a need to make it perfectly clear that member states may keep their national rules on access to documents, said David Torngren, an official at Swedens ministry of justice, in an email on Tuesday (19 March). Torngren described the

15 March 2013

IDFI appeals against the requests ignored by the Administration of the President of Georgia one more time

In the practice of IDFI the Administration of the President of Georgia tends to leave the public information requests unanswered. In 2012-2013 IDFI appealed two times against the requests left unanswered by the Administration. It seems, that the tendency continues in 2013 as well and IDFI also continues to appeal against it. On February 11, 2013 IDFI addressed the Administration of the President of Georgia with the request on the following issues: Number of the employe

11 March 2013

Georgian Prime Minister meets deliberative council of movement to digital broadcasting

On March 7th of the current year, the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development presented the landmarks of the policy of Georgia transferring to digital terrestrial broadcasting and the vision of the issue to the Prime Minister of Georgia. The meeting was attended by the representatives of ministries, broadcasters and NGOs. Ucha Seturi, and expert of IDFI who leads the subgroup working on social issues of the Council for Transition to Digital Terrestrial Broadcasting created in the

7 March 2013

General Comment of the United Nations Human Rights Committee: The Right of Access to Public Information

Author: Nino Tsukhishvili International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which was adopted on December 16, 1966 by the United Nations General Assembly, guarantees the right of access to public information in all States parties. Georgia ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on May 3, 1994 and took obligations under the Covenant, including providing the right of access to public information. The implementation of the Covenant by States parties is