Introduction
The National Freedom of Information Coalition and the Washington Coalition for Open Government (WCOG) announce Seattle Sunshine: 2007 FOI Summit.
This year's Freedom of Information summit in Seattle, Washington, is your best opportunity to get a clear view of the state of state FOI. The conference brings together access advocates from all over the country to share ideas, highlight successes, and head off the latest tricks in the secrecy trade.
In addition to stimulating panels with expert panelists, at this year's conference will be a night at the movies with a showing of the Lionsgate film, The U.S. vs. John Lennon, a rock documentary chronicling the FBI's secret campaign against the outspoken Beatles front man.
We'll also award a worthy individual with membership into the State Government Hall of Fame.
If you haven't been to NFOIC's national conference, what are you waiting for?
Register now, and we'll see you in Seattle!
Scheduled panelists include:
- Tom Blanton, Director, National Security Archive
- Rebecca Carr, National correspondent for Cox Newspapers Washington Bureau
- J. William Leonard, Director, Information Security Oversight Office
- Mike McGraw, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and former member of the board of Investigative Reporters and Editors
- Rob McKenna, Attorney General for the state of Washington
- David Postman, Chief political reporter for the Seattle Times
- John Scheinfeld, Writer, producer and director of documentaries, co-director/co-writer of The U.S. vs. John Lennon
- Dr. Murray Sperber, Professor of English and American Studies at Indiana University, and author of Beer and Circus: How Big-Time College Sports is Crippling Undergraduate Education
Scheduled panels include:
- Sports Secrecy: Economic negotiations in the dark—A panel with deep expertise in the business—and secrecy—of professional and big-time college sports discusses the ramifications of sports on society and the price to be paid when teams and owners deal in the dark.
- Election Transparency: The next great FOI story?—With issues of electronic voting machines and Election Day shenanigans popping up in election after election, we’ve assembled some of the finest minds in the country that have studied or reported on election issues.
- On the FOI Beat—Whether in books or on the pages of American newspapers, there are stories to be told about the dangers of government secrecy and the value of freedom of information.
- Bridging the Red-Blue Divide: Keeping access a bipartisan issue—Access to information can become a cause for a party out of power, while secrecy can be used to further the control of the majority. How do we keep FOI a bipartisan value above the debate over other issues?
- FOI Training in the States: What your state can do—Join government officials and FOI advocates who train public officials in open government, and take home some tips for building your own program.
Conference registration now open!
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