National FOI Day

National FOI Day is an annual, daylong program of speaking and discussion by specialists in various aspects of freedom of information, updating developments in FOI over the preceding year.

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2013 National FOI Day Conference

The 15th annual National Freedom of Information Day Conference was held Friday, March 15 in the Freedom Forum’s Newseum.

Keynote discussion was with professor and author Ron Collins and noted lawyer Floyd Abrams, on Collins’ latest book:  Nuanced Absolutism: Floyd Abrams and the First Amendment.

Hosted each year by the First Amendment Center, the conference is conducted in partnership with Open the Government.org, American Association of Law Libraries, American Library Association, American Society of News Editors, Association of Research Libraries, the Center for Effective Government, League of Women Voters, National Freedom of Information Coalition, the Project on Government Oversight, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, the Special Libraries Association and the Sunlight Foundation.  The event is part of the annual Sunshine Week.

2013 Agenda

2013 Videos

 

 

 

 

 

2012 National FOI Day Conference

The 14th annual National Freedom of Information Day Conference was held Friday, March 16 — James Madison’s birth date — in the Freedom Forum’s Newseum.

Keynote speaker for the event was Robert O’Neil, former president of the University of Virginia and former director of the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression.

Hosted each year by the First Amendment Center, the conference is conducted in partnership with the American Library Association, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, OMB Watch, OpenTheGovernment.org, and the National Security Archive at George Washington University. The event also is part of the annual Sunshine Week initiative sponsored by the American Society of News Editors and the Reporters Committee.

The conference included the announcement by the ALA of the recipient of its annual James Madison Award. Receiving the 2012 award was Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif.

2012 agenda

2012 conference coverage

2012 videos

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Speaker: John Palfrey

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Panel: International trade agreements

 

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Keynote speaker: Robert O’Neil

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Lunch speakers: Ken Paulson, ASNE/First Amendment Center; Molly Raphael, American Library Association; and ALA Madison Award recipient Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif.

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Panel: Whistleblowers & the Press

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Two panels: Secret Government & Secret Laws, then Freedom of Information Worldwide

Sunshine Week events

2011 National FOI Day Conference

The 13th annual National FOI Day Conference was held Wednesday, March 16, at the Newseum.

First Amendment lawyer Floyd Abrams was keynote speaker for the event, and Patrice McDermott, director of OpenTheGovernment.org, received the ALA’s 2011 James Madison Award.

The conference also featured the induction of five nominees into the National Freedom of Information Act Hall of Fame, honoring those who have made significant contributions to protecting and expanding access to government information. The Hall was created in 1996 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the federal Freedom of Information Act.

2011 agenda

2011 videos:

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Panel: What in the FOIA world has Wikileaks wrought?

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Panel: Two years after President Obama took office, how does his administration rate on FOI?

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Panel: Technology, classification, declassification and the public interest

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Keynote speaker: Floyd Abrams

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FOI Day history

The idea of a National FOI Day to be observed on March 16 in honor of James Madison’s birthday emerged in the late 1970s. For a number of years, the National Press Club hosted a FOI program on different dates, but that program became subsumed by other interests in the early 1990s.

In 1993, Paul McMasters convened a “National Freedom of Information Summit” at the First Amendment Center in Nashville, bringing together most of the major players on FOI, right to know and government secrecy. That two-day conference resulted in a report titled “Battling for an Open Government.”

In 1996, working with the American Society of Newspaper Editors, McMasters convened another summit at the Freedom Forum on FOIA’s 30th anniversary called “Sunshine & Secrecy: The FOIA Turns 30.”

The first official National FOI Day conference was held at the Freedom Forum on March 16, 1999, and has continued ever since.

About The First Amendment Center

We support the First Amendment and build understanding of its core freedoms through education, information and entertainment.

The center serves as a forum for the study and exploration of free-expression issues, including freedom of speech, of the press and of religion, and the rights to assemble and to petition the government.

Founded by John Seigenthaler, the First Amendment Center is an operating program of the Freedom Forum and is associated with the Newseum and the Diversity Institute. The center has offices in the John Seigenthaler Center at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., and at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.

The center’s programs, including the Religious Freedom Education Project at the Newseum, provide education and information to the public and groups including First Amendment scholars and experts, educators, government policy makers, legal experts and students. The center is nonpartisan and does not lobby, litigate or provide legal advice. See First Amendment Center Fact Sheet and FAQs. See internships info.

The center’s website, www.firstamendmentcenter.org, is one of the most authoritative sources of news, information and commentary in the nation on First Amendment issues. It features daily updates on news about First Amendment-related developments, as well as detailed reports about U.S. Supreme Court cases involving the First Amendment, and commentary, analysis and special reports on free expression, press freedom and religious-liberty issues. Support the work of the First Amendment Center.

1 For All

1 for All is a national nonpartisan program designed to build understanding and support for First Amendment freedoms. 1 for All provides teaching materials to the nation’s schools, supports educational events on America’s campuses and reminds the public that the First Amendment serves everyone, regardless of faith, race, gender or political leanings. It is truly one amendment for all. Visit 1 for All at http://1forall.us/

Help tomorrow’s citizens find their voice: Teach the First Amendment

The most basic liberties guaranteed to Americans – embodied in the 45 words of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution – assure Americans a government that is responsible to its citizens and responsive to their wishes.

These 45 words are as alive and important today as they were more than 200 years ago. These liberties are neither liberal nor conservative, Democratic nor Republican – they are the basis for our representative democratic form of government.

We know from studies beginning in 1997 by the nonpartisan First Amendment Center, and from studies commissioned by the Knight Foundation and others, that few adult Americans or high school students can name the individual five freedoms that make up the First Amendment.

The lesson plans – drawn from materials prepared by the Newseum and the First Amendment Center – will draw young people into an exploration of how their freedoms began and how they operate in today’s world. Students will discuss just how far individual rights extend, examining rights in the school environment and public places. The lessons may be used in history and government, civics, language arts and journalism, art and debate classes. They may be used in sections or in their entirety. Many of these lesson plans indicate an overall goal, offer suggestions on how to teach the lesson and list additional resources and enrichment activities.

See more about lesson plans.

First Amendment Moot Court Competition

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution – the cornerstone of American democracy – is the focus of the National First Amendment Moot Court Competition. Recognized as one of the nation's finest constitutional-law competitions, this annual event features a current First Amendment controversy.

During the two-day competition in February, each team will participate in a minimum of four rounds, arguing a hypothetical based on a current First Amendment controversy before panels of accomplished jurists, legal scholars and attorneys.

Past participants in the National First Amendment Moot Court Competition have represented law schools nationwide, from Brooklyn Law School to Duke University to Arizona State to Harvard.

The 23rd Annual National First Amendment Moot Court Competition is Feb. 21-22, 2013. See registration information and details about the competition.

FIRST AMENDMENT CENTER ARCHIVES

State of the First Amendment survey reports

The State of the First Amendment surveys, commissioned since 1997 by the First Amendment Center and Newseum, are a regular check on how Americans view their first freedoms of speech, press, assembly, religion and petition.

The periodic surveys examine public attitudes toward freedom of speech, press, religion and the rights of assembly and petition; and sample public opinion on contemporary issues involving those freedoms. See the reports.