Information Wanted Campaign

21 August 2006

A consortia of organization from Bosnia and Herzegovina started the Information Wanted campaign, in Spring 2006. The campaign activities will culminate on September 28, the International Day of Free Access to Information, through a series of workshops, public presentations and debates in eight cities - Zenica, Mostar, Drvar, Livno, Zvornik, Bihac, Tuzla and Sarajevo.

The Law on Free Access to Information was adopted in 2000 (the entities adopted the appropriate legislation in 2001). Its implementation, however, remains extremely slow, for two reasons.

First, a number of government agencies have not completed the preparations for active implementation of the legislation. Second, the public has very little information about the Law and the rights resulting from it. Combined with the traditionally passive public opinion in B&H, these remain the main obstacles for its implementation.

The �Information Wanted� project aims to emphasize this problem and raise the level of public understanding of the Law, through a public campaign, initiation of wider discussion on the right to access information and similar issues.

The consortium of organizations involved in the campaign includes the Centre for Free Access to Information, the INFOHOUSE Association for Advancement of Information Sciences, Sarajevo University Human Rights Centre, Civil Society Promotion Centre, Tuzla Referent Group, NDC Mostar, RRS Drvar, DC �Nove nade� Bihac, INAT Youth Initaitive - Zvornik, Nasa djeca Zenica, and CGS Livno.

If you are interested to know what are the per diems received by the members of the Presidency, who teaches math to your children, why there is no sports hall in your town, where do the political parties� finances come from, and so on, join the campaign activities in one of the eight cities.