The Freedom of Information Advocates Network (FOIAnet)

The Freedom of Information Advocates Network (FOIAnet) is an international information-sharing network of organizations and individuals working to promote the right of access to information.

FOIAnet runs a discussion list for news and debate on the right of access to information; there are currently over 815 individuals on this list, including civil society representatives, lawyers, academics, information commissioners and others with a specialised interest in the right to information. The network launched and promotes International Right to Know Day which takes place on 28th September of every year.

FAQs

FOIAnet projects are run by the Steering Committee and implemented by the dedicated Coordinator based at Africa Freedom of Information Centre. Core FOIAnet activities include running the discussion list of over 815 individuals as well as coordinate International Right to Know Day events.

Member organisations of FOIAnet are civil society organisations with active programmes to promote the right of access to information.

Go to the Membership section find out how to become a member, or if you want to join the discussion list as an individual.

The Steering Committee is made up of 7 individuals from FOIAnet member organisations. The Steering Committee is elected every 4 years and holds meetings regularly to discuss developments and actions for FOIAnet to take.

The Freedom of Information Advocates Network was founded on 28 September 2002 by representatives of national and international non-governmental and civil society organizations working in the field of Freedom of Information at the end of the Freedom of Information Litigation Workshop held in Sofia on 26-28 September 2002.

Since then, the network has expanded to over 240 member organisations and over 700 individuals participating in the discussion list. Every year, members conduct activities for International Right to Know Day (RTKD) held on 28 September 2014, the day the network was founded.

Lisa Tilney, ABA-CEELI Bosnia Herzegovina
Gergana Jouleva, AIP
Aleksander Kashumov, AIP
Nikolay Marekov, AIP
Fanny Davidova, AIP
Karen Andreasyan, Armenian Centre for Freedom of Information
Shushan Doydoyan, Armenian Centre for Freedom of Information
Sara Buchanan, Article 19
Bethan Grillo, Article 19
Peter Noorlander, Article 19
Peter Wilfling, Citizen and Democracy Foundation, Slovakia
Debashish Sankhari, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative
Inese Voika, Delna-TI Latvia
Linda Austere, Delna-TI Latvia
Nino Kuntseva-Gabashvili, Georgian Young Lawyers Association
Tinatin Khidashelli, Georgian Young Lawyers Association
Olivia Pirtac, Independent Journalism Centre, Moldova
Sasa Andonovski, Lawyer, Macedonia
Luna Pla Issa, LIMAC, Mexico
Richard Calland, ODAC, South Africa
Jindriska Prokopova, Open Society b.a. Czech Republic.
Helen Darbishire, Open Society Justice Initiative
Eszter Filippinyi, Open Society Justice Initiative
Gohar Avagyan, OSCE Armenia
Dave Banisar, Privacy International
Klime Babunski, Pro Media, Macedonia
Bonnie Robin-Vergeer, Public Citizen
Diana-Olivia Calinescu, Romanian Helsinki Committee, APADOR-CH

Click to download the FOIAnet Founding Memorandum (EN) (ES) and Annex A (EN) (ES)

Meet The Steering Committee

Toby Mendel
Toby MendelSteering Committee Chair
Toby Mendel is the Executive Director of the Centre for Law and Democracy, a Canadian-based international human rights NGO that provides legal and capacity building expertise regarding foundational rights for democracy, including the right to information, freedom of expression, the right to participate and the rights to assembly and association.
Ádám Földes
Ádám FöldesSteering Committee Member
Adam Foldes is a human rights and anti-corruption lawyer, active in the field of freedom of information since 2003. He is currently the advocacy advisor in the Conventions Unit of the International Secretariat of Transparency International.
Alexander Kashumov
Alexander KashumovSteering Committee Member
Alexander Kashumov is a freedom of information and freedom of expression expert with 17 years’ experience. He works for the Access to Information Programme (AIP), Bulgaria, since 1997 and is Head of its Legal Team.
Carole ExcellSteering Committee Member
Carole Excell is the Project Director, The Access Initiative at the World Resources Institute working on access to Information, public participation and access to justice issues around the world.
Gilbert Sendugwa
Gilbert SendugwaSteering Committee Member
Gilbert Sendugwa works as Coordinator and Head of Secretariat for the Africa Freedom of Information Centre (AFIC), a pan-African organization promoting the right of access to information in Africa.
Taranath Dahal
Taranath DahalSteering Committee Member
Taranath Dahal is one of the prominent journalists and civic activists of Nepal and has spearheaded the RTI movement in Nepal since he was the general secretary of Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ).
Toby McIntosh
Toby McIntoshSteering Committee Member
Toby McIntosh is an editor for FreedomInfo.org, the one-stop news site for freedom of information advocates around the world. Toby has worked on transparency for over a decade and helped found the Global Transparency Initiative
Sarah FaguetFOIAnet Coordinator
Marion Natukunda is a new FOIAnet Coordinator as start of 2019 and work at Africa Freedom of Information Centre (AFIC), a pan-African NGO and resource centre that promotes the right of access to information through comparative research, coordinating regional advocacy, facilitating information-sharing and capacity building.