Tuesday, 21 July 2009

Africa: Conference - Enhancing Democracy and Good Governance through Effective Information and Knowledge Services XIXth Standing Conference

-----Original Message-----
From: cbatambuze@nabotu.or.ug [mailto:cbatambuze@nabotu.or.ug]
Sent: Wednesday, July 15, 2009 9:36 PM
To: IFLA-L
Subject: [IFLA-L] SCECSAL XIX-Call for papers

Enhancing Democracy and Good Governance through Effective Information and
Knowledge Services XIXth Standing Conference of Eastern, Central, & Southern
Africa Library and Information Associations (SCECSAL) 2010 Conference will
take place in Gaborone, Botswana starting from 7th September to 10th
September 2010.

Call for Papers
This is the first call for papers for the SCECSAL XIX Conference in
September 2010. Papers should address the Conference theme: "Enhancing
Democracy and Good Governance through Effective Information and Knowledge
Services"
Through the contribution of libraries and information services free
effective information and knowledge services do prevail in Africa. Free flow
of Information can play an important role in contributing to democracy, good
governance, social equality and economic growth within nations. In order to
promote transparency and accountability on a national scale, every
government needs to establish mechanisms to provide for setting out the
practical regime of right to information for citizens to secure access to
information. Democracy requires an informed citizenry and transparency of
information which are vital to national functioning and also to contain
corruption and to hold Governments and their instrumentalities accountable
to the governed. Information and knowledge creates a receptive, opened and
questioning nation that forms the basis for strong democracy. In today's
technological environment much can be done by libraries, media and other
information outlets to promote the principles of free and democratic
societies. It has been observed that, democracy depends both on freedom and
accessibility of information and on an informed public. African governments
must ensure that nationals have easy access to information more than ever
before so as to promote the principle of good governance, democracy, social
equality, and economic growth.
The conference organisers are calling for abstracts on a range of themes,
but not limited to:
Sub-Themes:

. Libraries, democratization process and promotion
of sustainable good governance in Africa

. Freedom of access to information, censorship to
information, Internet monitoring, and good governance

. Information privacy and confidentiality

. Libraries, human rights and democracy

. Advocacy and smart partnerships between libraries
and government in national development

. Information for poverty alleviation and social
justice

. Libraries, social equality and economic growth

. Social inclusion/exclusion, democracy and good
governance

. Digital divide and achievement of democracy

. E-governance/e-government and libraries in Africa

. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)
and good governance

. Universal access to information and disadvantaged
groups

. Information literacy and democracy

. Local content, knowledge management/services, and
good governance

. Intellectual property rights and democracy

. Information services and community/national
development

. Learning organizations, democracy and good
governance

Important Deadlines (Dates)
Submission of Abstracts
Abstract proposals are due on Thursday 30 July 2009, and should be sent to:

Dr Priti Jain (jainp@mopipi.ub.bw)

or to:

Reason Baathuli Nfila (nfilar@mopipi.ub.bw) Authors will be notified about
acceptance of their abstracts by Wednesday 30th September 2009.
Accepted full papers are due on Monday 28th February 2010.

Completed papers, including abstracts, must be sent to the above addresses.
Papers should be sent as e-mail attachment (electronic). Papers and
abstracts must include the following:

. Names of speaker(s), institution, city and country

. Title of paper

. Abstract of not more than 150 words

. Full-text as electronic attachment

Papers to be presented must be written in English Registration and
exhibition details can be obtained from Dikgangb@mopipi.ub.bw, Tel. (267)
355 2459; Cell. (267)71827118, Faculty of Science, University of Botswana.

Sunday, 19 July 2009

India: "Safeguarding the Right to Information: Report of the People's RTI Assessment 2008" in India

-----Original Message-----
From: freedominfo.org [mailto:FREEDOMINFO@HERMES.GWU.EDU] On Behalf Of
freedominfo.org
Sent: Saturday, July 18, 2009 6:51 AM
To: FREEDOMINFO@HERMES.GWU.EDU
Subject: "Safeguarding the Right to Information: Report of the People's RTI
Assessment 2008" in India

freedominfo.org - Update, July 17, 2009


* "Safeguarding the Right to Information: Report of the People's RTI
Assessment 2008" in India


http://www.freedominfo.org


"Safeguarding the Right to Information: Report of the People's RTI
Assessment 2008" in India

A Comprehensive Look at the Implementation and Use of India's RTI Act

New Delhi, India -- In the first two years of access-to-information
implementation in India, about 1.6 million requests for information were
maade in urban areas, while an additional 400,000 applications were made in
the rural villages. Taking such a large-scale access-to-information regime
head on, "Safeguarding the Right to Information: Report of the People's RTI
Assessment 2008" is the first broad-based, nation-wide study of RTI
implementation and usage in India.


http://www.freedominfo.org

_________________________________________________________________________

freedominfo.org is a one-stop portal that describes best practices,
consolidates lessons learned, explains campaign strategies and tactics, and
links the efforts of freedom of information advocates around the world. It
contains crucial information on freedom of information laws and how they
were drafted and implemented, including how various provisions have worked
in practice.

_________________________________________________________________________

PRIVACY NOTICE freedominfo.org does not and will never share the names or
e-mail addresses of its subscribers with any other organization. We would
welcome your input, and any information you care to share with us about your
special interests. But we do not sell or rent any information about
subscribers to any other party.

_________________________________________________________________________

France: Censure du rap

Quand le rap dérape
http://www.france5.fr/c-dans-l-air/index-fr.php?page=resume&id_rubrique=1205
mercredi 15 juillet 2009

La déprogrammation d'Orelsan aux Francofolies met artistes et politiques en
émoi et provoque le débat autour du clip d'une ancienne chanson du rappeur.
Danger pour la liberté d'expression ou légitime lutte contre l'apologie de
la violence envers les femmes ?

L'annulation, par les organisateurs, du concert d'Orelsan, qui aurait dû
avoir lieu mardi 14 juillet 2009 au cours des Francofolies La Rochelle, a
été condamnée par plusieurs artistes du festival, comme Olivia Ruiz, Tryo ou
Bénabar, ainsi que de Cali, qui n'était pas invité cette année, certains
criant à la "censure" ou à l'"atteinte à la liberté d'expression".

La controverse, qui se concentre principalement autour d'un clip et des
paroles d'une chanson datant de 2007 et intitulée Sale pute, a pris une
tournure politique. Suite aux déclarations de l'ancien directeur du
festival, Jean-Louis Foulquier, sur des menaces de retrait des subventions,
l'UMP a accusé la présidente socialiste de la région Poitou-Charentes,
Ségolène Royal, d'avoir fait pression sur les organisateurs de la
manifestation.

Des affirmations contestées par l'actuel directeur artistique des
Francofolies, Gérard Pont - qui assume l'entière responsabilité de cette
décision -, et de Ségolène Royal, qui reconnaît "avoir exprimé sa
satisfaction à l'annonce de la déprogrammation du rappeur".

Le nouveau ministre de la Culture, Frédéric Mitterrand, interrogé à ce sujet
sur RTL, a jugé "cette polémique ridicule" : Dans le même temps, la
secrétaire d'Etat à la Politique de la ville et ancienne présidente de
l'association Ni putes ni soumises, Fadela Amara, a proposé une table-ronde
aux rappeurs. Valérie Létard, secrétaire

Invites:

Véronique Mortaigne
Journaliste et critique musicale au Monde.

Violaine-Patricia Galbert
Psychothérapeute.

Alain Piot
Sociologue de formation.

FORUM C dans l'air»Culture et médias»Quand le rap dérape
http://forums.france5.fr/cdanslair/Cultureetmedias/derape-sujet_370_1.htm

----
Mark Perkins MLIS, MCLIP
www.markperkins.info

https://keyserver.pgp.com/

Iran: Protests & censorship links

The Twitter crisis: how site became voice of resistance in
Iran (Guardian)
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem23073.htm

Iranian Consumers Boycott Nokia
http://www.uptilt.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=4zc,17tsq,2aec,y65,l9iz,3lsb,hvta

Director-General suupports the G8 call on Tehran for respect for human
rights
http://www.unesco-ci.org/newsletter/lt/t_go.php?i=2013&e=MzgyODQ=&l=
-htt
p--portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID--E-28903--A-URL_DO--E-DO_TOPIC--A-U

RL_S ECTION--E-201.html

Help Protesters in Iran: Run a Tor Bridge or a Tor Relay Internet
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/06/help-protesters-iran-run-tor-relays-bri
dges
users in Iran are using Tor to both (a) circumvent censorship systems and
(b) remain anonymous while reading and writing on the Internet. Both are
critically important to the safety of protesters, many of whom fear
retaliation from the government. Preliminary reports indicate that use of
the Tor client in Iran has increased in the days after the contested
election.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/06/help-protesters-iran-run-tor-relays-bri
dges

Twitter Users And The #IranElection
http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/r/VP6EHT/A4COP/ULVD47/7M830Z/YGEA6/VU/h

World's media seeks ways around Iran clampdown
http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/r/X109GB/HQKLF/065SIK/Z0HHNC/7ZL3R/LE/h

Google trial in Italy: freedom v. responsibility
http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/r/PSLW3N/85ACJ/4VKNSE/KRET0Y/MJ5GG/XL/h

Iran Protesters Using Tech To Skirt Curbs
http://www.uptilt.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=4zc,179gn,2aec,uvm,hy3i,3lsb,hvta

Are US Regulations Hurting Free Speech in Iran?
EFF has been watching with concern the blocking of Web 2.0 sites in
countries like Iran. This new threat doesn't come from foreign governments:
it appears to be coming from the ambiguity of the United States' own export
regulations.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/06/sanctions-and-web

IRAN'S ELECTION AND THE POWER OF TWITTER
http://blogs.findlaw.com/technologist/2009/06/the-revolution-will-be-microbl
ogged-irans-election-and-the-power-of-twitter.html

----
Mark Perkins MLIS, MCLIP
www.markperkins.info

https://keyserver.pgp.com/

China: New 'Green Dam' Internet filter - links

China's internet censors (Economist)
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem23058.htm

Chinese censorship of Internet 'unacceptable': EU (AFP)
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem23103.htm

PC giants ship Chinese censorware anyway: The porn filter that keeps you
from typing
www.theregister.co.uk

U.S. Presses China on Censorship: Senior Officials Object to New
Filter-Software Requirement
http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/r/SFBD1U/1CCRT/7ZIUFS/572HFB/YGF2O/28/h

China Backs Down Over Controversial Censorship Software
http://www.uptilt.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=4zc,17al1,2aec,38mw,dvzh,3lsb,hvta

US Lodges China Censorship Complaint
http://www.uptilt.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=4zc,17de4,2aec,j4s5,edqz,3lsb,hvta

Internet Boycott Calls To Mark China Filter Debut
http://www.uptilt.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=4zc,17ebn,2aec,7zbd,ilhj,3lsb,hvta

China Says Web Filtering Software Launch Unchanged
http://www.uptilt.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=4zc,17fg0,2aec,mg7t,epnm,3lsb,hvta

U.S. Urges China To Revoke Internet Filter Requirement
http://www.uptilt.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=4zc,17ge0,2aec,341h,6unt,3lsb,hvta

Google Slammed As China, U.S. Quarrel Over Internet
http://www.uptilt.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=4zc,17h9v,2aec,ln45,f4wr,3lsb,hvta

PC Makers Race To Comply With China's Web Filter
http://www.uptilt.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=4zc,17h9v,2aec,2det,33iv,3lsb,hvta

Companies Appeal To China To Drop Web Filter Plan
Washington Post

PC makers voluntarily supply Web filter in China (By JOE McDONALD)
http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/r/5O5UA2/O38DZ/ULVD47/4Z4J96/Q3J1A/9A
washington post

China Web controversy highlights public role (By JOE McDONALD)
http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/r/LI37JS/1CW4Q/YG7QDW/KR3WG2/9MV4D/T3/h


----
Mark Perkins MLIS, MCLIP
www.markperkins.info

https://keyserver.pgp.com/

Saturday, 18 July 2009

Sri Lanka: Deteriorating Press Freedom Continues Post-Conflict

 


From: ARTICLE 19 [mailto:press@article19.org]
Sent: Friday, July 17, 2009 3:52 AM
To: lists@markperkins.info
Subject: Sri Lanka: Deteriorating Press Freedom Continues Post-Conflict

ARTICLE 19

PRESS RELEASE

For immediate release – 16 July 2009

Sri Lanka: Deteriorating Press Freedom Continues Post-Conflict

Today the International Press Freedom Mission to Sri Lanka, of which ARTICLE 19 is a member, issued an open letter to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa expressing extreme concern over the deterioration of press freedom despite the military victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

The International Press Freedom Mission to Sri Lanka has outlined an 11-point plan to the government of Sri Lanka to redress the perilous condition of press freedom.

In particular, the Mission has asked the government to:
  1. Combat impunity through the creation of a Special Prosecutor’s Office for the investigation of crimes against the media;
  2. Put in place effective measures to ensure that all journalists can work safely.
  3. Release imprisoned journalist J.S. Tissainayagam and his colleagues B. Jasiharan and V. Vallarmathy;
  4. Release the first results of the investigation into the murder of Lasantha Wickrematunge;
  5. Provide full and unconditional access to the IDP camps for all media;
  6. Repeal the Press Council Act No. 5 of 1973;
  7. Introduce training for the police, army and the intelligence agencies on freedom of expression;
  8. Award financial compensation to journalists who have been arbitrarily detained, beaten or otherwise harassed by security forces;
  9. Invite the UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom and Expression to visit Sri Lanka;
  10. Work with the state-owned media to ensure the immediate end to direct verbal attacks and threats against independent journalists and press freedom activists; and
  11. Introduce structural legal reforms to create an enabling environment for a free and independent media.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

• For more information please contact Toby Mendel, a19law@hfx.eastlink.ca, tel +1 902 431-3688.
• The full text of the letter can be found at: http://www.article19.org/pdfs/letters/open-letter-to-his-excellency-president-mahinda-rajapaksa.pdf

mini logo ARTICLE 19
ARTICLE 19 is an independent human rights organisation that works globally to protect and promote the right to freedom of expression. It takes its name from Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees free speech. For more information on ARTICLE 19 please visit www.article19.org

Free Word Centre, 60 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3GA, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 20 7324 2500 - Fax: +44 20 7490 0566 - info@article19.org - www.article19.org


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Thursday, 16 July 2009

USA: EPA Calls for Transparency as "First Step" to Improving Water Quality

EPA Calls for Transparency as "First Step" to Improving Water Quality
<http://www.ombwatch.org/node/10205/>
Posted on July 14, 2009

In a July 2 memo to top staff, the administrator of the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), Lisa Jackson, called for greater transparency of
water quality enforcement and compliance information. Jackson acknowledged
that U.S. waters do not meet public health and environmental goals, and she
listed enhancing transparency as the first of several steps toward improving
compliance and water quality.

Stating that "Americans have a right to know how their government is doing
in enforcing laws to protect the nation's water," Jackson directed staff to
improve, expand, and enhance the amount of information on water quality
available to the public. She added, "[G]overnment has an obligation to
clearly inform the public about water quality and our actions to protect
it."

Jackson's memo lays out several actions to expand public access to
government data, improve the analysis and presentation of compliance data,
and use new technologies to link such regulatory data to real-time
environmental conditions.

The administrator called for enhanced information on compliance and
enforcement of water quality laws to be posted on the agency's website,
including Clean Water Act compliance data for each state. Jackson stated,
"An informed public is our best ally in pressing for better compliance."
Where possible, the website will show connections between local water
quality and the state's enforcement record.

Jackson set broad standards for the data to be available online. The
information must be easy to access, simple to understand, and provide the
user with ways to analyze the performance of individual businesses, as well
as states and the nation's performance overall. Online tools to analyze
state performance reports should also be made available.

Jackson ordered state performance reports that have been released under the
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to be posted online. Government
transparency advocates have recommended posting all materials disclosed
under FOIA on agencies' websites. Providing public access to
already-disclosed information would reduce the burden of future FOIA
requests for the same information. It is unclear whether Jackson intends to
expand this approach into a policy that would place all FOIA-released
materials online.

Complementing the administrator's call for greater transparency is her plan
to "move EPA's information technology into the 21st century." Recognizing
how much more powerful information is when presented clearly to the public,
Jackson is demanding that EPA be an "analytical resource" that provides -
over the Web - easily understandable, useable, real-time data, including
facility-level compliance data, water quality data, and other environmental
data.

Jackson's memo also calls for raising the bar on performance of Clean Water
Act enforcement. She pushed for putting resources into the highest-priority
problems that will yield the largest impact on water quality, such as "wet
weather pollution," which would include storm water runoff.

The memo continues an emerging trend at EPA of greater transparency - at
least rhetorically. Shortly after her confirmation as head of EPA, Jackson
released a memo to all employees calling for greater transparency, followed
by a memo emphasizing a restoration of scientific integrity.

In a September 2008 report, the Government Accountability Office (GAO)
listed several problems inhibiting the accuracy and transparency of EPA's
reporting of enforcement for all environmental regulations. GAO recommended
several actions for EPA to improve transparency. Among them, GAO recommended
disclosure of additional enforcement data and the methods for calculating
them. It is not clear from the administrator's memo how these
recommendations would be incorporated into Clean Water Act enforcement
reporting.

A July 2005 GAO report identified gaps and discrepancies in data that
impeded EPA's ability to efficiently allocate resources to protect
environmental health. Jackson's memo does not address data gaps or data
quality.

The new memo from Jackson only addresses enforcement of and compliance with
one statute, the Clean Water Act. No such memo or other instructions have
been released regarding transparency in the enforcement of the numerous
other environmental statutes under EPA's jurisdiction.

Jackson's memo was addressed to Cynthia Giles, the new head of the EPA's
Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA). Working with the
agency's Office of Water, OECA will develop an "action plan" to increase
transparency, improve compliance, and transform the information systems
dealing with water quality programs. The offices are to gather ideas from
states, the EPA regional offices, and outside stakeholders; develop
recommendations; and report to the administrator within 90 days.

Image in teaser by flickr user Wouter Kiel, used under a Creative Commons
license

----
Mark Perkins MLIS, MCLIP
www.markperkins.info

https://keyserver.pgp.com/

Wednesday, 15 July 2009

Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka accused of Internet censorship

Sri Lanka accused of Internet censorship
<http://www.totaltele.com/view.aspx?ID=447239&mail=52&C=3>
From AFP
Tuesday 14 July 2009
Media rights group claims authorities blocked access to Websites that
criticised the government.

A media rights organization Tuesday accused Sri Lankan authorities of
blocking access to Web sites critical of the government and stifling
dissent.

The Paris-based Reporters without Borders, or RSF, said Sri Lanka most
recently blocked a site for reporting alleged incidents inside a camp for
civilians displaced by the war with Tamil Tiger rebels.

"The Lankanewsweb.com blocking is the latest evidence of a decline in
freedom of expression in Sri Lanka," RSF said in a statement.

It noted that the move followed the government's re-activation of the Press
Council, which has powers to jail reporters and media executives.

--snip--

----
Mark Perkins MLIS, MCLIP
www.markperkins.info

https://keyserver.pgp.com/

Russia: British academics protest after Russia closes down history website

British academics protest after Russia closes down history website
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/13/russia-shuts-history-website>
Move reflects official efforts to rewrite Stalin's role and to cover up
Nazi-Soviet pact
* Luke Harding in Moscow
* guardian.co.uk, Monday 13 July 2009 17.58 BST

A group of British academics including the historian Orlando Figes and the
poet and translator Robert Chandler have spoken out after authorities in
Russia closed down a website dealing with the country's controversial Soviet
past.

On 19 June the home affairs ministry in St Petersburg shut down the site
www.hrono.info. The website had been Russia's largest online history
resource, widely used by scholars in Russia and elsewhere as a unique source
of biographical and historical material.

Officials said they closed the site because it published extracts from
Hitler's autobiography, Mein Kampf. Today, however, its founder, Vyacheslav
Rumyantsev, said the closure had nothing to do with Hitler, adding that the
text was widely available elsewhere and was only summarised on the site.

Rumyantsev said the authorities may have pulled the plug after an article
was posted on 16 June criticising St Petersburg's pro-Kremlin governor,
Valentina Matviyenko. The article attacked Matviyenko's decision to cut an
allowance given to survivors of the Nazi siege of Leningrad.

The closure comes amid official attempts in Russia to rewrite some of the
darkest aspects of its 20th-century history. School textbooks now portray
Stalin not as a mass murderer but as a great, if flawed, national leader and
an "efficient manager" who defeated the Nazis and industrialised a backward
Soviet Union.

In December, police in St Petersburg raided the human rights organisation
Memorial, removing much of the material used by Figes in The Whisperers, his
acclaimed book on family life under Stalin. It included interviews with
gulag victims, photos and personal testimonies. Figes's Russian publisher
later scrapped plans to publish the book in Russian.

--snip--

Much of Soviet history is now taboo. Particularly sensitive for the Kremlin
is the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, under which Hitler and Stalin agreed to
carve up Europe, with Moscow annexing the Baltics and two-thirds of Poland.
The Kremlin also refuses to acknowledge Ukrainian claims that the
Stalin-engineered famine of 1932-33 amounted to a genocide.

--snip--

In May Russia's president, Dmitry Medvedev, announced he was setting up a
new body to counter the "falsification of history". The commission,
dominated by members of Russia's FSB intelligence service rather than
professional historians, would ensure that history teaching stressed
Russia's heroic sacrifice during the war, Medvedev said, and combat foreign
"revisionists".

This month Russia's defence ministry posted a lengthy article on its website
claiming that Poland provoked the second world war. The article said Poland
refused to yield to Germany's "modest" ultimatum demands in 1939 for a land
corridor to East Prussia and Gdansk. The ministry withdrew it after Poland
protested to Russia's ambassador in Warsaw.

--snip--

----
Mark Perkins MLIS, MCLIP
www.markperkins.info

https://keyserver.pgp.com/

2009 Global Corruption Barometer by Transparency International

2009 Global Corruption Barometer by Transparency International
<ti@transparency.org>
<http://www.transparency.org/publications/publications/gcb2009>
English, French, Spanish
Published by Transparency International

Transparency International's (TI) 2009 Global Corruption Barometer (the
Barometer) presents the main findings of a public opinion survey that
explores the general public's views of corruption, as well as experiences of
bribery around the world. It assesses the extent to which key institutions
and public services are perceived to be corrupt, measures citizens' views on
government efforts to fight corruption, and this year, for the first time,
includes questions about the level of state capture and people's willingness
to pay a premium for clean corporate behaviour.

ISBN: 978-3-935711-28-9

contact: msidwell@transparency.org

----
Mark Perkins MLIS, MCLIP
www.markperkins.info

https://keyserver.pgp.com/