We need a ‘public interest override’ in the RTI Act
Public interest should be the yardstick when balancing citizens' right to information concerning governance and state need to safeguard sensitive information.
1w ago
Time to put the RTI Act on the right track
The success of the RTI Act anywhere in the world largely depends on the determination and commitment of the citizens to put it to practical use.
1m ago
101 of the RTI Act for Bangladesh's youth activists
Bangladesh's RTI law is the best law to utilise in making a new Bangladesh where people's power reigns supreme in the true sense of the term.
2m ago
Right to information: Time for the sunshine law
Now is the opportunity for our youth to lead us in using existing laws to build a better country.
3m ago
RTI kept alive by rural, semi-urban citizens
In Bangladesh, those at the grassroots level with little knowledge about the intricacies of governance have found the RTI law useful and convenient.
5m ago
Citizens must use RTI Act to its full potential
The use of the RTI Act is not merely to focus on government work, but to operationalise good governance too.
5m ago
Right to information takes centre stage in Indian elections
The Indian Supreme Court's recent decision on electoral bonds underline the importance of citizens' role in exercising their right to information as watchdogs of good governance.
6m ago
Arrest and imprisonment of journalist over RTI request is ominous
The eruption of hostility surrounding the submission of a simple RTI request to a public official was uncalled for
7m ago
November 15, 2018
The many uses of RTI: Our imagination is the limit
If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” A slight tweak of this famous quotation from British writer George Orwell will make it equally appropriate for the right to information:
October 15, 2018
SDGs and The Right to Information: We can't have one without the other
The International Right to Know Day on September 28 was observed this year with much less enthusiasm in many countries. Though 90 percent of world population now live in countries where the Right to Information (RTI), or Freedom of Information (FOI), law exists, the promise of transparent and accountable governance presaged in the law remains a distant dream.
September 15, 2018
Of political parties, general elections and RTI in Bangladesh
A positive outcome of the contemporary trend towards authoritarian rule by democratically elected governments around the world is that it is providing a welcome boost to the limping Right to Information (RTI) or Freedom of Information (FOI) movements globally.
August 14, 2018
RTI Footprints in South Asia: Tapping its potential for public causes
Our region is well-known for its deep-rooted culture of official secrecy inherited from colonial times. So why the proliferation of a rigorous law that gives citizens a tool to probe their governments and restrain their arbitrary use of power? Nearly all countries in South Asia have now enacted a Right to Information (RTI) Act.
July 15, 2018
Has it lived up to the expectations?
Nine years ago this month, the RTI Act 2009 of Bangladesh was born. It came at a time when the entire nation was filled with a deep sense of relief and hope for change and reforms.
June 15, 2018
Why it's relevant for us and how it relates to RTI
In the days before May 25, email users all over the world were bombarded with a barrage of electronic messages updating them on something called the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). Observers claim that the number of messages dispatched by businesses throughout the world on the occasion might have surpassed those sent during Christmas or New Year. On that day, Europe became subject to the GDPR, a law aimed primarily at bringing outdated personal data laws across EU up to speed with the fast-moving digital era. GDPR has an impact far beyond Europe.
March 15, 2018
How RTI can help elect the best candidates
Political tension mount in most countries during election year. In Bangladesh, tension has already gripped the people and is likely to intensify before the general elections scheduled for December 2018.
February 15, 2018
Making police accountable
At his investiture last month, the new police chief of Bangladesh committed to making each police station truly a centre for welfare of the people.
December 15, 2017
RTI vs RTP: Is there a contradiction?
The disclosure of information on people's race or ethnicity during World War II caused one of the worst tragedies known to mankind. It led to secret denunciations and seizures, sending millions of friends and neighbours to labour and concentration camps and eventually to gas chambers.
November 15, 2017
From right to information to right to data
In late 1840s, London was hit by a vicious cholera epidemic. Health officials struggled to curb the spread until Dr John Snow painstakingly collected data on the location and history of each case and traced the source to specific water supplies in the city.
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