Pan African Conference on Access to Information (PACAI)

This gathering, the PACAI, capitalises on the 20^th anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration, to make a difference to information access. The event is convened by the Windhoek+20 Campaign on Access to Information in Africa in conjunction with UNESCO, and possibly the African Union. It will be one of several conferences taking place simultaneously in Cape Town, and it will share an opening session with them. The totality of events will come together for a joint closing session, dubbed as the Africa Information and Media Summit (AIMS).

The ultimate outcome of these conferences, and of combining some 1000 delegates and several constituencies, is to generate a declaration that can be as influential as the original Windhoek Declaration which promoted media freedom and gave rise to World Press Freedom Day. At this point in history, the emphasis is on the other side of the media-freedom coin: i.e., access to information. The September declaration is intended to serve as an instrument for further action, and it will likely be known as the African Platform on Access to Information(APAI). It is intended that PACAI itself will attract some 100 leading and influential participants across Africa from civil society, media, policymakers, development partners, tech companies, private and public bodies, spanning some 40-50 African countries.

Context:

The Africa envisaged in the Windhoek Declaration of 1991 is still a far cry from the repressive media environments that endure in many African countries. But two decades later, a lot has changed for the better, even if many negative tendencies persist. Thus, in many African countries today, press freedom and/or freedom of expression are constitutional rights and the media market is diverse, liberalised and growing. However, as regards Access to Information (ATI), most of Africa has lagged behind, including in transparency and in ICT development. There are only six countries in Africa with Access to Information laws: South Africa, Uganda, Angola, Ethiopia, Liberia and Nigeria. The implementation of these laws, along with the general issue of accessible information placed in the public domain more broadly, is sub-optimum, and much more could also be done through harnessing technological potential. Nevertheless, progress can be made by building upon existing documents like the “Declaration on Principles of Freedom of Expression in Africa”, the “African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance” and the Carter Center’s “Plan of Action of Action for the Advancement of the Right of Access to Information”. The APAI to be adopted in Cape Town will add impetus to these steps towards progressive change.

Objectives of PACAIA:

• To concentrate the insight and power of stakeholders in information rights and access, particularly in Africa, to exchange knowledge and experience;

• To advance the momentum for transparency, public domain information and ICT-accessibility, particularly in Africa;

• To initiate a process for the adoption of an instrument (the APAI) which elaborates the right of access to information, sets standards and provides guidance to countries in the enactment and implementation of access to information laws, and which may be put to the African Union Commission for its November session) (consultations with the African Union will take place mid-June);
• To contribute to the international community a call for the United Nations to give formal recognition of an International Day of Access to Information. To date, the following have agreed to assist in drafting the declaration: UNESCO, UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, Article 19.