Look right: What you don’t know will hurt you, says Shehri

Training exercises, interactive presentations showed importance of access to public data to empower, protect citizens.

KARACHI:

NGO Shehri-Citizens for a Better Environment want to make sure all citizens have the right to access information.

To drive home the importance of the issue, the NGO held a workshop at Movenpick Hotel. Through training exercises and interactive presentations, the importance of access to public data that can empower and protect citizens was stressed upon.

Amber Alibhai, the general secretary of Shehri-CBE, introduced the aims of the workshop to the participants, which are to facilitate good governance by advocating transparency in government functions and an informed and pro-active role of the citizenry in seeking protection of their fundamental rights as enshrined in the Constitution. A presentation on Article 19(A) by Dr Syed Raza Ali Gardezi outlined the legislations’ key points. He explained the mechanics of the ordinance, differentiating between the type of data that can be disclosed by the state.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 26^th, 2014.