Media Rights Agenda to host 3-day FOI implementers strategy meeting in Abuja

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Media Rights Agenda (MRA) will host a three-day Freedom of Information (FOI) Implementers’ Strategy Meeting in Abuja on January 27 to 29, 2015 for civil society organizations engaged in FOI work in Nigeria to agree on a framework for coordination and collaboration.

The meeting is a follow-up to the first FOI Implementers’ Strategy Meeting held in Abuja in September 2013 and is aimed at finalizing the proposals discussed during the first meeting for ensuring greater coordination and collaboration, as well as information, experience and skills sharing and exchange in FOI implementation activities.

The Keynote Address at the meeting will be delivered by Mr. Augustine Alegeh (SAN), President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), while Mr. Kelechi Nwosu, President of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), will also address the meeting as part of an effort to forge partnerships between professional bodies and civil society organizations in the implementation of the FOI Act.

The meeting is sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Democratic Governance for Development (DGD) II Project. The DGD II Project is a joint donor-funded project managed by UNDP in support of deepening democracy in Nigeria and is funded with contributions from the European Union, the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), and the UNDP. 

During a Freedom of Information Implementers meeting held in September 2013, a committee was set up to propose a structure and operational framework for a re-structured Freedom of Information Coalition. 

The Committee submitted a report, incorporating a strategy document with recommendations on a series of steps to be taken and activities implemented to ensure the effective coordination and formal establishment of the FOI Coalition.

The follow-up meeting will provide a platform where the recommendations of the Committee will be discussed, modified, where necessary, and adopted.  It is also envisaged that the meeting will elect a steering committee with a chairperson to steer the affairs of the Coalition.

The meeting will be attended by over 100 participants, including from among member organizations of the erstwhile loosely structured Freedom of Information.