28 september - The Right to Know Day

The Idea

On 28 September 2002 Freedom of Information organizations from various countries around the globe meeting in Sofia, Bulgaria, created a network of Freedom of Information Advocates (FOIA Network) and agreed to collaborate in promotion of the individual right of access to information and open, transparent governance. The group of FOI Advocates also proposed that 28 September be nominated as international "Right to Know Day" in order to symbolize the global movement for promotion of the right to information. The aim of having a Right to Know Day is to raise awareness of the right to information. It is a day on which freedom of information activists from around the world can use further to promote this fundamental human right and to campaign for open, democratic societies in which there is full citizen empowerment and participation in government.

On an annual ceremony Access to Information Programme (AIP) presents awards to Bulgarian citizens, media and NGOs, who have actively exercised their rights to freedom of information. The winners are selected from a large number of nominations by a committee, including renowned journalists and NGO leaders.

AIP held the 2011 Right to Know Day Awards Ceremony

The 9th Right to Know Day Awards Ceremony in Bulgaria was held on 28 September in the Bulgarian News Agency, Sofia. Access to Information Programme opened the event with the song “Breathe.” The event was broadcast live on Internet. More than hundred people attended the ceremony.  Pictures are available at AIP web site: http://www.aip-bg.org/about/gallery/108773/

The awards committee has selected the winners in the six categories for the 2011 Right to Know Day Awards out of 59 nominations. See who the winners were at: http://www.righttoknowday.net/ceremony11_eng.php

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Right to Know Day 2010

The eighth annual Right to Know Day Awards Ceremony in Bulgaria was held on September 28, 2010 at 5 p.m. in the National Press Center of the Bulgarian News Agency (49 Tsarigradsko shose Blvd) in Sofia. Read more...
You can watch video clips (in Bulgarian) from the 2010 Right to Know Day Awards Ceremony held by Access to Information Programme.

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The seventh annual Right to Know Day Awards Ceremony in Bulgaria was held on September 28, 2009 at 10 a.m. in the National Press Center of the Bulgarian News Agency in Sofia. Read more...

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A thirty-minute documentary Right to Know Day was produced by a team of ProMedia - Broadcasting Training Center Foundation within the framework of the project Local Media and Freedom of Information in Bulgaria implemented by The Management&Media Academy/Free Voice and Access to Information Programme with the financial support of the MATRA Programme of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.The movie is in Bulgarian but is accessible with subtitles in English.

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The sixth annual Right to Know Day Awards Ceremony in Bulgaria was held on September 28, 2008 at 12 p.m. in the National Press Center of the Bulgarian News Agency in Sofia. Read more...

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The fifth annual Right to Know Day awards ceremony in Bulgaria was held on September 28, 2007 at 5 pm in the national press center of the Bulgarian News Agency. Read more...

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The fourth annual Right to Know Day awards ceremony in Bulgaria was held on September 28, 2006 at 5 pm in the national press center of the Bulgarian News Agency. Read more...

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In 2006, more than 40 FOIAnet organizations marked the International "Right to Know Day". Click on the map on the right to see how each of them celebated on September 28.