Friday, March 19, 2009, 12:00 - 2:00 PM (EDT)

from OpenTheGovernment.org

If you have questions please contact: Amy (Fuller) Bennett, Program Associate, OpenTheGovernment.org, afuller at openthegovernment.org.

Register to attend the event in person by emailing Amy.

Registration to host an event is now OPEN. Please download the Registration Form (Adobe PDF/8 KB) and return the completed form to Amy Fuller via email or fax (202.683.4852).

To view the webcast live on your personal computer, no pre-registration is required. Simply use the URL that will be available here about 24 hours prior to the event.

What?

On his first full day in office, President Obama committed (Adobe PDF/57 KB) his Administration "to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government." To help meet that goal, the Administration has issued an Open Government Directive (Adobe PDF/52 KB) and a new Memorandum on Freedom of Information Act (Adobe PDF/84 KB) and Attorney General Guidelines (Adobe PDF/728 KB). The Administration has also launched an expansive effort to open up data to developers, advocates, and the public via Data.gov. Join us for this three panel event to hear our panelists -- transparency experts from inside and outside government-- discuss these initiatives and their effect on the public. Panelists will also take questions from the live and viewing audience.

The first panel, featuring Norm Eisen, Special Counsel to the President for Ethics and Government Reform, will focus on the White House's efforts to imbed transparency in the system by, in part, requiring each agency to develop an open government plan, and post open government pages.

During the second panel, our panelists, including Miriam Nisbet, Director of the new Office of Government Information Services (OGIS), will discuss how recent changes to law and policy effect a citizen's ability to request and receive information from the federal government.

During the last panel, developers and advocates will explain how they use government information like the data on Data.gov to make a difference for the public.

The event will also be available as a live webcast from the Center for American Progress. About 24 hours before the event, you will have the opportunity to test the webcast, and call someone to help with any technical difficulties.

You can watch the webcast on your own, or with a group. The panel discussion will be shown at locally hosted discussions in communities across the country.

Opportunities will be available for audience questions from all participants.

Where?

The event will be held at the Center for American Progress (1333 H Street, NW) and webcast to sites around the country.

Not in DC? You CAN still participate by hosting a program in your community!
Participants are encouraged to show the national program and plan local programs tailored to open government issues in their communities. To show the webcast to a larger audience you will need: a computer, a LCD projector, and a screen (like for a movie) or a blank wall.

Don't have that kind of equipment?
Check with your local library about co-hosting the event. Libraries generally have the necessary equipment and are a natural fit for an event on information policy.

Sites are encouraged to show the national program and plan local programs tailored to open government issues in their communities. Audience members at all sites viewing the live event will have an opportunity to call in (using any telephone) and email questions to our live panels. We will answer as many questions as time permits.

When?

The event will be held on Friday, March 19, 2010 12:00- 2:00pm (EDT).

How?

Register to attend the event in person by emailing Amy (Fuller) Bennett.

To view the webcast live on your personal computer, no pre-registration is required. Simply use the URL that will be available on this page about 24 hours prior to the event

Sign Up (Adobe PDF/8 KB) to serve as a local host or site. Return your completed form to Amy via email or fax (202.683.4852).

If you have questions please contact: Amy (Fuller) Bennett, Program Associate, OpenTheGovernment.org, afuller at openthegovernment.org.

Why?

The first national "Sunshine Week: Your Right to Know" was launched in March 2005 and will be celebrated in 2010 from March 14-20. Sunshine Week's intent is to raise awareness of the importance of open government to everyone in the community, not just journalists. Sunshine Week 2010 National Dialogue is brought to you in celebration of Sunshine Week by the American Association of Law Libraries, American Library Association, Association of Research Libraries, Center for American Progress,League of Women Voters, National Coalition Against Censorship, National Freedom of Information Coalition, OMB Watch, OpenTheGovernment.org, Public Citizen, Sunshine Week, and the Sunlight Foundation.