Description
The project addresses the need to boost the capacity of NGOs in Bulgaria with regard to the relevant framework on access to information. The project aims at raising the awareness and providing legal aid to NGOs about the latest amendments related to access to information. First, 6 training courses will be held for active NGOs in 6 cities. Second, the applicant will provide legal aid to NGOs related to exercising the right to access to information. Third, the latest amendments in the Access to Public Information Act will be presented at a conference. Next, reference materials on the right to access to information will be prepared. Finally, the applicant’s network of 27 coordinators in Bulgaria will be trained in the latest legislative amendments in the national and international law related to access to information. The project will benefit the applicant, its 27 coordinators and the NGO sector in general.
Summary of project results
With a view to the amendments to the Access to Public Information Act (APIA), it was necessary to launch an educational campaign about the new opportunities to seek and receive information for monitoring, advocacy and assessment of the fulfillment of new obligations. The above reason made it necessary for Access to Information Programme (AIP) to develop the project. 6 training sessions with 139 NGO representatives took place under the project. The training sessions about the new developments in APIA were held in 6 cities: Sofia, Montana, Blagoevgrad, Varna, Bourgas and Plovdiv. Legal aid was provided to NGOs and citizens in 153 cases to help them exercise their right to access to information and use the APIA procedures. 5 comments were prepared and disseminated to 2400 subscribers. An evaluation was carried out of the information published on the websites of 565 institutions from the executive power in Bulgaria. After the evaluation was carried out, the findings and 2016 Active Transparency Rating were covered in 36 publications in the national, local and regional media. A national conference was held on the topic of Access to Information - a Tool to Achieve Our Goals with 52 participants from NGOs from various cities in Bulgaria. A film titled I have the Right to Know was filmed and viewed almost 500 times on YouTube by the end of the project (
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IE7ySGeOUA). In addition, a handbook on How to Get Access to Information was published in a circulation of 2300 copies and was also disseminated in an interactive online format. Finally, a book titled Civil Society Participation and Access to Information was published, translated into English and disseminated. The project played an important role to broaden the expert experience of AIP team. The training sessions, the training materials, the legal aid, all the project activities in general boosted the capacity of the participating NGOs to seek information for civil society participation and control. The work of the AIP’s network of reporters – coordinators in the country received a boost. The evaluation of compliance with obligations for active publishing of information and the dissemination of the findings contributed to better performance and active transparency. The adopted amendments to APIA (State Gazette, issue 97/2015) reflect the recommendations made by AIP for active publishing and electronic access to information.
Summary of bilateral results