OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan hosts high-level event on the occasion of International Day on Universal Access to Information
On 28 September 2020, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan (PCUz) organized a high-level conference to mark International Day on Universal Access to Information (IDUAI). The event was organized in co-operation with the Public Foundation for Support and Development of National Mass Media.
The event recognized the significance of access to information, after the 74th UN General Assembly proclaimed 28 September as International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI) in October 2019. This year, IDUAI will be focused on the right to information in times of crisis and on the advantages of having constitutional, statutory and/or policy guarantees for public access to information to save lives, build trust and help the formulation of sustainable policies through and beyond the COVID-19 crisis.
Over 200 participants attended the event where they discussed the importance and methods to reach universal access to information. Participants were invited from Uzbekistan, the OSCE area and beyond. Representatives from Asia and the Middle East, working in the field of media, access to information, broadcasting companies, research centres specialized in Central Asia, in non-governmental organizations, and think tanks attended.
Key speakers included Tuula Yrjölä, Officer-in-Charge/OSCE Secretary General, Jürgen Heissel, Director of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Ambassador Ulrika Funered, Permanent Representative of Sweden to the OSCE and Chairperson of the OSCE Permanent Council in 2021, Melissa Fleming, United Nations Under-Secretary for Global Communications, Helena Fraser, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Uzbekistan, Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation, Komil Allamjonov and Saida Mirziyoyeva, respectively. They focused on the importance of universal access to information, open data policies and media reforms compliant with international commitments.
“There are multiple OSCE commitments that relate to the public’s right to access information,” said John MacGregor, OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan. “Noting that the public’s ‘need to know’ is particularly acute in light of the worldwide pandemic, I am very pleased to co-operate and collaborate with the Public Foundation for Support and Development of National Mass Media, an Uzbek NGO, to mark International Day for Universal Access to Information with such a high-level event.”