We met with the Speaker of the Parliament, he reiterated his support for an Access to Information Act<\/i>\r\n\r\nFollowing the symposium, Transparency Maldives met with the social affairs committee to discuss the bill and present recommendations. At the symposium, Speaker of the Parliament Abdulla Shahid had expressed his support for such a bill and all committee members were receptive to our recommendations and agreed to expedite the passing of the bill.\r\n\r\nTransparency Maldives published a position paper on the existing Access to Information regulatory framework in Maldives and the amendments that are crucial for an effective Access to Information that reflect international best practices.\r\nThe Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM), the Prosecutor General\u2019s Office, the Auditor General\u2019s Office and the then Gender and Human Rights Ministry, endorsed TM\u2019s position paper.\r\n\r\nThe ATI project had also aimed to create awareness and a grassroots demand for access to information in the community. As part of this initiative a series of radio awareness programmes were conducted in partnership with state institutions and NGOs and the public radio broadcaster.\r\nIn November 2013, three weeks before the Parliament tabled the bill, Transparency Maldives launched a renewed awareness campaign with assistance from UNDP, Ahaahoadha \u00a0to create a grassroots demand for information within communities.\r\n\r\nIn campaign, Ahaahoadha TM brought together civil society actors, local council members, community leaders, and representatives from state institutions from 5 regions across the country for ATI workshops and educated more than 100 individuals on the importance of ATI in a democratic society and the need for a best-practice ATI legislation in the Maldives.\r\n\r\nMany participants of the workshops agreed that lack of access to information is a major hindrance in the development of their communities. This network of ATI enthusiasts helped actualize a culture of access to information in the country. Several participants of the workshops communicated their need for easy access to information to their respective MP\u2019s.\r\nSince the bill was first proposed to the parliament in 2012, the bill had been amended to omit crucial articles, including clauses on establishing an independent Information Commissioner to ensure redress.\r\n\r\nBefore the bill was tabled in December \u00a0Transparency Maldives lobbied with Members of the Parliament and ATI champions in the state, to ensure that the bill would be amended to include crucial provisions of the bill that had previously been omitted.\r\n\r\nThe Parliament passed Maldives\u2019 first Access to Information legislation on December 29, five years after it was first submitted to the Parliament and was ratified by the President on January 12.\r\n\r\nThe legislation once effectively implemented, will be an important driver for transparency and openness within the state and an effective tool in the fight against corruption. It will enable greater accountability of public officials and state institutions.\r\n\r\nThe successful passage of an ATI bill is a great example of collaborative efforts between legislators, civil society, state institutions, and international experts. TM worked with like-minded ATI champions within and outside the Parliament to ensure that the bill is up to international standards.\r\n\r\nTransparency Maldives hopes to \u00a0continue its work with ATI enthusiasts and institutions in efforts to effectively implement the law, create an open culture of information and proactive disclosure to meet citizens increasing demand for information.\r\n<\/div>","link":"https:\/\/transparency.mv\/category\/governance-and-anti-corruption\/access-to-information\/ati\/","name":"Access to Information","slug":"ati","taxonomy":"category","parent":21,"meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/transparency.mv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories\/3"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/transparency.mv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/transparency.mv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/taxonomies\/category"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/transparency.mv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories\/21"}],"wp:post_type":[{"href":"https:\/\/transparency.mv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts?categories=3"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\r\nWe met with the Speaker of the Parliament, he reiterated his support for an Access to Information Act<\/i>\r\n\r\nFollowing the symposium, Transparency Maldives met with the social affairs committee to discuss the bill and present recommendations. At the symposium, Speaker of the Parliament Abdulla Shahid had expressed his support for such a bill and all committee members were receptive to our recommendations and agreed to expedite the passing of the bill.\r\n\r\nTransparency Maldives published a position paper on the existing Access to Information regulatory framework in Maldives and the amendments that are crucial for an effective Access to Information that reflect international best practices.\r\nThe Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM), the Prosecutor General\u2019s Office, the Auditor General\u2019s Office and the then Gender and Human Rights Ministry, endorsed TM\u2019s position paper.\r\n\r\nThe ATI project had also aimed to create awareness and a grassroots demand for access to information in the community. As part of this initiative a series of radio awareness programmes were conducted in partnership with state institutions and NGOs and the public radio broadcaster.\r\nIn November 2013, three weeks before the Parliament tabled the bill, Transparency Maldives launched a renewed awareness campaign with assistance from UNDP, Ahaahoadha \u00a0to create a grassroots demand for information within communities.\r\n\r\nIn campaign, Ahaahoadha TM brought together civil society actors, local council members, community leaders, and representatives from state institutions from 5 regions across the country for ATI workshops and educated more than 100 individuals on the importance of ATI in a democratic society and the need for a best-practice ATI legislation in the Maldives.\r\n\r\nMany participants of the workshops agreed that lack of access to information is a major hindrance in the development of their communities. This network of ATI enthusiasts helped actualize a culture of access to information in the country. Several participants of the workshops communicated their need for easy access to information to their respective MP\u2019s.\r\nSince the bill was first proposed to the parliament in 2012, the bill had been amended to omit crucial articles, including clauses on establishing an independent Information Commissioner to ensure redress.\r\n\r\nBefore the bill was tabled in December \u00a0Transparency Maldives lobbied with Members of the Parliament and ATI champions in the state, to ensure that the bill would be amended to include crucial provisions of the bill that had previously been omitted.\r\n\r\nThe Parliament passed Maldives\u2019 first Access to Information legislation on December 29, five years after it was first submitted to the Parliament and was ratified by the President on January 12.\r\n\r\nThe legislation once effectively implemented, will be an important driver for transparency and openness within the state and an effective tool in the fight against corruption. It will enable greater accountability of public officials and state institutions.\r\n\r\nThe successful passage of an ATI bill is a great example of collaborative efforts between legislators, civil society, state institutions, and international experts. TM worked with like-minded ATI champions within and outside the Parliament to ensure that the bill is up to international standards.\r\n\r\nTransparency Maldives hopes to \u00a0continue its work with ATI enthusiasts and institutions in efforts to effectively implement the law, create an open culture of information and proactive disclosure to meet citizens increasing demand for information.\r\n