(USA) – Publish What You Fund today welcomed the release of two memos by the Obama administration on transparency and open government. In the first, it sets out that government should be open, participatory, and collaborative, and the second urges a presumption in favour of disclosure.

Full text of the Obama transparency memos

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

 

For Immediate Release January 21, 2009

January 21, 2009

 

As part of a special issue on transparency, Drum Beat introduces the Publish What You Fund campaign and explains why its aims are so important: lack of aid transparency leads to inefficiency and risks of heightened corruption.

Read the full article. 

On 14 December 2008, leading experts from around the world meeting at a conference co-organized by Access Info Europe adopted the Budapest Declaration which calls for the right of access to information to apply to all States at all levels of government, to intergovernmental organizations, and also to other bodies undertaking public functions.

Meeting in Paris on 26 November 2008, the Steering Committee of the International Aid Transparency Initiative, which includes Publish What You Fund represented by Director Karin Christiansen, agreed a plan of activities for advancing standard-setting on aid transparency.

 

Douglas Alexander delivered a speech on the need for greater transparency in international aid. He highlighted the International Aid Transparency Initiative, launched by the UK in Accra in September with the support of 13 major donors. Publish What You Fund is noted as a key supporter of this initiative. Mr Alexander draws attention to several of the successes of the Accra meeting.

Watch the speech.

The Director of Publish What You Fund, Karin Christiansen, is interviewed in this issue, in a Special Collection on "Perspectives after Accra". Christiansen emphasises the challenges of aid effectiveness and the vital role transparency plays in creating ownership by aid recipients, and for accountability by both partners. She also discusses the role of civil society organisations in enhancing transparency.

Click here for a link to the interview.