[Reader-list] [Announcements] Convention on Right to Information

Mon Oct 4 23:24:06 IST 2004

National Campaign for Peoples Right to Information

Date: 15/09/2004
Dear friends,

Greetings from the National Campaign for the Peoples Right to
Information! We are writing to invite you to the Second National
Convention on the Peoples Right to Information, to be held in New Delhi,
from October 8-10, 2004.

As you know, the right to information is a fundamental right guaranteed
under our Constitution. This is an all-important right for realising all
other fundamental rights. The demand for strong and effective right to
information legislation has been growing as are a variety of citizens
efforts to use right to information provisions to make transparency and
accountability in governance more meaningful for ordinary citizens. This
is, in several ways, the first step towards entrenching a more
participatory democracy.

As a result of broad-based campaigns, 9 states have passed right to
information laws to operationalise the peoples right to information. In
addition, there are several executive orders at the State and the National
level, which give citizens the right to access information from specific
departments. In 2002, Parliament passed the Freedom of Information Act
which has not come into force yet. However, most citizens groups have
basic objections to the provisions of this law and many of the state laws,
and there has been an ongoing campaign for better legislation. In addition
to improved legislation, there remains the need for ensuring better
implementation of existing laws on right to information. While right to
information has shown great potential for citizens empowerment, it has
also become clear that without sustained campaigning and pressure from
citizens groups, its full potential will not be realised. 

It is with this aim of fostering collective action that a group of
concerned peoples, organisations, campaigns, human rights and other social
activists, journalists, lawyers, academics and other development
organisations came together, in 1997, to launch the National Campaign for
Peoples Right to Information (NCPRI). Following this, the First National
Convention on the Right to Information was held in Beawar in April 2002.
The Second National Convention is being organised in New Delhi at a time
when an increasingly larger number of people are using their right to
information and greater opportunities exist for ensuring that a strong
national law is brought into effect. 

The Second National Convention will commence on October 8, 2004 (Friday)
with a National Public Hearing on the issue of the Public Distribution
System (PDS). The PDS has been chosen because of its current relevance at
the national level, the extensive use by citizens groups of right to
information law to access records related to the PDS and the need for
active citizens participation for framing an effective Public
Distribution System.

The second and third day (Oct. 9-10) will comprise of 2-3 plenary sessions
where issues of common interest will be discussed. There will be other
sessions where simultaneous workshops will be organised on the
relationship between right to information and citizens entitlements in
various spheres. It is hoped that these workshops will result in a more
practical and sharper understanding of the use of right to information by
citizens.
Through this National Convention, the NCPRI hopes to involve more
individuals and citizens groups in the Campaign and collectively chart
its future.

The NCPRI is raising funds in order to enable larger participation of
interested people from all over the country. A nominal registration fee of
Rs. 100/- per participant will be charged which will include basic
accommodation (from October 8th- 10th) and subsidized food (from 8th night
 10th night). Arrangements will be made for the sale of reasonably priced
lunch packets at the Public Hearing. Participants will have to bear their
own travel costs to Delhi and from the railway/bus station to the venue.

·	Delhi University (DU) Campus is the venue for the National Public
Hearing on PDS and the National Convention.
·	Your accommodation has been arranged at Harijan Sewak Sangh (Gandhi
Ashram) situated at Kingsway Camp, (10 minutes walking distance from DU
Campus)

We would appreciate an early response from you with an indication of the
number of participants who will be accompanying you. Your response will
help us plan the workshops and organise the logistics for the Convention.
While participants will be free to attend any workshop of their choice, it
is possible that you might be contacted by the workshop organisers
independently.

For further information you may please contact any of the following -

Arvind (20033988), Ms. Vishaish (9818345439), Ms. Sowmya (9818505853), Ms.
Anjali (9811558533), Nikhil/Salim (9810884111) or Venkatesh (9871050555)
or email to ncpri2004 at yahoo.co.in 

You may also send confirmation of your participation by post to - 
NCPRI, c/o C-18A, Munirka, New Delhi-110 067.

If you wish to send monetary contributions to meet the expenses of the
Convention please issue a cheque or draft drawn in favour of National
Campaign for Peoples Right to Information and post it to the above
address.

We request you to circulate this invitation within your networks.

With best wishes,
Yours sincerely,

NCPRI Working Group: Shekhar Singh, Aruna Roy, Ajit Bhattacharjea,
Prabhash Joshi, Maja Daruwala, Dr. Suman Sahai, Harsh Mander, Bharat
Dogra, Nikhil Dey, Arvind Kejriwal, Prakash Kardaley, Shailesh Gandhi,
Vijay Pratap and Prashant Bhushan (Convenor)

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