Webinar today on ‘Making the political establishment accountable to RTI’

Members of the panel (from left): Centre for Democracy and Law Canada Director Toby Mendel, RTI Commission of Sri Lanka Commissioner Kishali Pinto Jayawardene, Pakistan Information Commission Federal Information Commissioner Zahid Abdullah, 

Peoples Action for Free & Fair Elections (PAFFREL) Executive Director/Asian Network for Free Election (ANFREL) General Secretary Rohana Hettiarachchie, PublicFinance.lk (Verité Research) Lead Researcher Anushan Kapilan, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, India Access to Information Program Coordinator Venkatesh Nayak, Moderator, Sri Lanka’s former ambassador to Saudi Arabia Javid Yusuf, Attorney-at-Law 

• Event to mark International Day for Universal Access to Information 2021

Recognising the significance of access to information, the UNESCO declared 28 September of every year as International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI). The 2021 theme for the IDUAI highlights the role of access to information laws and their implementation to build back strong institutions for the public good and sustainable development, as well as to strengthen the right to information and international cooperation in the field of implementing this human right. 

In reiterating this message with UNESCO and to ensure the fundamental right to information prioritising the 2030 goals of the Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI) will host a webinar in two sessions with an expert panel focusing on the Right to Information (RTI) in Sri Lanka and the South Asian region. 

The six-member panel will meet in two sessions under the themes of ‘Making the political establishment accountable to RTI’ and ‘RTI and public funds’. The panellists will make presentations on the following; Overview of RTI in South Asia in making the political establishment accountable to RTI, RTI rulings in advancing governance in Sri Lanka and Pakistan, RTI in elections and exposing corruption, RTI and public funds and using RTI to protect public funds in India and the current challenges, respectively. Each panel will be followed by a Q&A session.

The webinar will be held on the Zoom platform on Thursday, 30 September from 12 noon. Simultaneous interpretation in Sinhala and Tamil will be facilitated for the event. For more details regarding registration please visit the upcoming events section on SLPI’s official website www.slpi.lk and follow their social media handles at SLPIFB and @SLPI.