About Helen Darbishire

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So far Helen Darbishire has created 1914 blog entries.
16 Jun 2014

Austria Constitutional Amendment: Abolishing secrecy but failing to recognise the right to Information

2018-11-13T10:11:47+01:00

Madrid, 16 June 2014 – The Austrian government is on the point of missing an historical opportunity to bring the constitution into line with international standards on the right of access to information, according to open government experts Access Info Europe. Access Info Europe today welcomed the proposal to abolish the constitutional protection of secrecy, a provision first adopted in 1920, which places an obligation on public officials to maintain official secrecy. But Access Info Europe’s Executive Director Helen Darbishire expressed concerns that the proposed replacement amendment is so weak and limited that it is unlikely to have any impact

Austria Constitutional Amendment: Abolishing secrecy but failing to recognise the right to Information2018-11-13T10:11:47+01:00
16 Jun 2014

Legal Leaks event in Sarajevo trains media professionals to data journalism

2018-11-13T10:11:47+01:00

Sarajevo, 12 June 2014- Data journalism is opening up new possibilities for journalists to disclose new types of stories and to present complex information to readers through infographics. This new form of journalism is ever more popular as an addition to traditional journalism. In a world of ever-growing flow of data, data-driven journalism is becoming an essential part of journalistic work. To enhance journalists’ skills to access information and also to help journalists analyse and present the obtained data, a Legal Leaks training was organized in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina on 10 and 11 June 2014. Organised by UNESCO in

Legal Leaks event in Sarajevo trains media professionals to data journalism2018-11-13T10:11:47+01:00
16 Jun 2014

Albanian journalists trained to use Legal Leaks in their daily work

2018-11-13T10:11:48+01:00

Tirana, 6 June 2014 - Is the Albanian law on access to information useful in the daily work of Albanian journalists? Is its implementation a pending issue? Should journalists play a greater role in implementing the law and in encouraging the rest of society to use this right? To advance debate on these issues, a Legal Leaks training seminar was organized by UNESCO in cooperation with Access Info Europe, the SEENPM and the Albanian Media Institute. Around 30 participants joined that event, which took place in Tirana on 4 and 5 June 2014. "The Albanian access to information law has

Albanian journalists trained to use Legal Leaks in their daily work2018-11-13T10:11:48+01:00
16 Jun 2014

First Legal Leaks training in Pristina empowers journalists to use access to information laws

2018-11-13T10:11:48+01:00

Prishtina, 4 June 2014 - How is taxpayers’ money being spent in a city? What are the plans for constructing a public hospital or a new school? Who received public contracts for building a new road or public infrastructure? Answers to those questions can be as interesting for readers, listeners and viewers as any story about political intrigue or international affairs. By using access to information laws, journalists can lead to strong everyday stories of high public interest. To help media professionals get information held by public bodies for their stories, a Legal Leaks training seminar was organized by UNESCO

First Legal Leaks training in Pristina empowers journalists to use access to information laws2018-11-13T10:11:48+01:00
11 Jun 2014

Ausencia de propuestas concretas y firmes en el borrador del II Plan de Acción de Gobierno Abierto

2018-11-13T10:11:48+01:00

Madrid, 11 de junio de 2014 – Access Info Europe ha enviado esta semana sus comentarios al borrador del II Plan de Acción de España para la Alianza para el Gobierno Abierto (OGP, en sus siglas en inglés). El borrador quedó abierto a consulta pública tras su presentación el pasado mes de mayo; no obstante, cabe destacar que el proceso de consulta abierto por el Gobierno ha sido muy deficiente. Tal y como apunta el comentario enviado, el Plan de Acción carece de propuestas firmes y concretas para lograr un real avance en temas de Gobierno Abierto en España. En

Ausencia de propuestas concretas y firmes en el borrador del II Plan de Acción de Gobierno Abierto2018-11-13T10:11:48+01:00
6 Jun 2014

Legal Leaks Challenge: Write Your Access To Information Story

2018-11-13T10:11:49+01:00

Madrid, 24 July 2014 – As part of the Legal Leaks trainings which has taken place during the month of June in five different countries in the Balkans – Kosovo, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia -, Access Info Europe and UNESCO, in partnership with the EU Commission, has organised a challenge for journalists taking part in these courses. What is the challenge about? Journalists shall write a story based on one or more access to information requests they have previously made. The article will have to be written in English, and will be a maximum of 2000 words

Legal Leaks Challenge: Write Your Access To Information Story2018-11-13T10:11:49+01:00
2 Jun 2014

Legal Leaks trainings: enhancing media accountability in the Balkans

2018-11-13T10:11:49+01:00

Madrid, 2 June 2014 – UNESCO and Access Info Europe will be carrying out a series of Legal Leaks trainings during the following month of June in five different Balkans countries, including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo. The Legal Leaks trainings are meant to empower journalists to use their national freedom of information laws as a regular part of their work. The training provides guidance on how to file freedom of information requests and contributes to protect media freedom by delivering techniques by which journalists can protect the security of their data and of confidential sources of

Legal Leaks trainings: enhancing media accountability in the Balkans2018-11-13T10:11:49+01:00
2 Jun 2014

European Commission attempting to block citizens’ requests via AsktheEU.org

2018-11-13T10:11:49+01:00

Madrid, 2 June 2014 – The European Commission is impeding the public's right to submit access to documents requests via the AsktheEU.org web portal by refusing to register requests which are not accompanied by a postal address. AsktheEU.org, which is run by Access Info Europe, was launched in September 2011 with the aim of making the requesting process more transparent. It is set up to work via email, with requests and responses published online in real time. Hence it does not currently have the capacity to deliver postal addresses without making them public. The Commission in early May started to

European Commission attempting to block citizens’ requests via AsktheEU.org2018-11-13T10:11:49+01:00
30 May 2014

Politics for People Campaign: Now is time for new MEPs to tackle Corporate Lobbying

2018-11-13T10:11:49+01:00

Brussels, Madrid, Cologne, 30 May 2014 – Civil society groups from across Europe this week called on newly elected Members of the European Parliament to make an urgent priority of tackling the problem of corporate lobbying in the next parliamentary term. The call by members of the Alliance for Lobby Transparency and Ethics Regulation (ALTER_EU), of which Access Info Europe is a Steering Committee member, went out to all 751 new MEPs and in particular to the 174 who signed a pre-election pledge under the Politics for People campaign to ‘’stand-up for citizens and democracy against the excessive lobbying influence

Politics for People Campaign: Now is time for new MEPs to tackle Corporate Lobbying2018-11-13T10:11:49+01:00
26 May 2014

One third of new Spanish MEPs have committed to increasing transparency and controlling lobbying in Brussels

2018-11-13T10:11:49+01:00

Madrid, 26 May 2014 – One third (31%) of the newly-elected Spanish MEPs have already committed to promoting transparency and regulating lobbying in Brussels, the result of a pre-election pledge campaign run in Spain by Access Info Europe. In advance of the elections, 13 of the 54 new MEPs (24%) signed a pledge to "stand up for citizens and democracy against the excessive lobbying influence of banks and big business."A further 4 candidates did not sign the pledge but had lobbying regulation and transparency in their election manifesto. Elected Candidates Who Signed the Politics for People Pledge, by Party: ›

One third of new Spanish MEPs have committed to increasing transparency and controlling lobbying in Brussels2018-11-13T10:11:49+01:00