At Int’l Day for Universal Access to Information: UNESCO Regional Director insists information valid tool for growth.

The ceremony took place October 1 at the UNESCO head office in Yaounde. The ceremony, which held both virtual and in-person, had in attendance Ministers of Communication from across Central African countries.

Celebrated annually on September 28, this year’s edition was celebrated under the theme: “Mainstreaming access to information and participation in the public sector”.

The celebration of the Day is to highlight the significance of access to information as a fundamental human right with a focus on how effective access to information can empower citizens, enhance public trust in institutions and promote civic engagement.

The event is also to contribute significantly in fostering transparency, accountability and democratic governance.

Speaking during the conference, the UNESCO Regional Director for Central Africa disclosed that Un agency, at the regional level, is honoured to host the reflective celebration of Universal Access to Information.

“We know that this day always marks stages of a goal that is still to be achieved and perfected, while allowing access to information, both through the legislative and regulatory framework, but also through regulation, self-regulation and encouragement of the media,” Coustère said.

Stressing on the importance of access to information to the citizens across central Africa, he said: “I would like to stress that access to information is a valid guarantee of participation in civic, social and economic life for all citizens”.

Coustère added that there is a whole ecosystem around access to information, and the event will help mobilise stakeholders across central Africa to discuss and promote the vital right of citizens on access to information so as to contribute social, economic and governance goals.

The involvement of all the ministers attending the hybrid conference, Coustère said, there is the need to always modernise, because the principle remains the same, but the technological environment has increased.

Involvement of AI & ICT

Delving into several key areas, the Webinar saw how Information and Communication Technology, ICT, can provide a response to the challenges linked to limited access to information during electoral processes and the promotion of democracy. 

Stating the involvement of Artificial Intelligence, AI, and ICT, Coustère said: “Artificial Intelligence is both an opportunity and a risk. And the aim is obviously to maximise the opportunity, to see how AI can help every citizen to access information and also to prevent all the risks of manipulation”.

Role of UNESCO in access to information

Explaining the role of UNESCO in the involvement of access to information, the Regional Director disclosed that UNESCO is here to listen to the various countries and offer its support were necessary.

“We are here to provide technical support, to offer a toolbox to the States. But as you know, UNESCO is responsible for monitoring the freedom and protection of journalist, and work on access to information and on the protection of journalists which go hand in hand,” he said.

Enter Minister of Communication 

Speaking during the conference, the Minister of Communication, Rene Emmanuel Sadi, said the importance of the day is to face the challenges and make a point on the advancement on access to information in Central Africa.

He also harped on the need to get diverse points of views and synergies from various countries in order to accelerate the process started by international communication on global development.

Minister Rene Sadi said the goal of the conference is to “guarantee the citizens at all time, in all places, and without constraining in any way the availability of information necessary, without compromising the availability of the information necessary for their useful participation”.

Statistics on access to information

Zooming on statistics on access to information, the UNESCO Regional Director for Central Africa disclosed that a total 100 countries of the UN member states have adopted access to information.

The score in Africa, he revealed, is not so good with only 27 countries who have adopted the access to information law. He further detailed that in Central Africa, only Angola has ignited the law on access to information with the process going on and other countries that have sent out their interest on the access to information.

About Int’l Day on Access to Information

The celebration of the Day has its origin since 1948. It was made official by the United Nations General Assembly in October 2019 to recognise September 28 as the official day to celebrate access to information.

The Day was proclaimed by UNESCO general conference in 2015 following an adoption of the 38th resolution declaring the Day through its intergovernmental programmes providing a platform and a framework for all stakeholders to participate in international discussions on policy and guidelines in the area of access to information. 

The commemoration of the Day was enriched in the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, the 2030 Goals, in the article on access to information as a means of achieving development goals. 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3248 of Thursday October 03, 2024