
The Conference will bring together over 100 Freedom of Information stakeholders, including civil society organizations, media stakeholders, public institutions and FOI oversight bodies, from across Africa for the two-day meeting. It will provide a platform where experience from different countries on the implementation of Freedom of Information laws can be shared; assess the level of implementation of existing Freedom of Information laws in the different countries that already have access to information legislation; identify and discuss the challenges of implementation in the different countries and discuss ways in which the challenges have been addressed: this will give the Nigerian participants an opportunity to learn from these experiences.
- To bring together oversight bodies and authorities with responsibility for Freedom of Information laws and provide them with a platform for sharing experiences, building linkages for longer-term networking through which they can provide support and assistance to each other in the performance of their oversight functions;
- To bring together representatives of public institutions covering all branches of government to share experiences of critical policy and institutional reforms that are necessary to ensure compliance by public institutions with the provisions of the FOI laws and their overall effective implementation; and
- To bring together civil society actors, including media stakeholders, on Freedom of Information issues from across West Africa and other parts of the continent to share experiences of their challenges in the implementation of the freedom of information laws, discuss their roles in ensuring the effective implementation of the laws and discuss various strategies that can be deployed in this regard.