Users long frustrated by difficulties accessing information under Jamaica’s Access to Information (ATI) Act now have a source of assistance in making and following through on ATI requests.

This followed Monday’s launch of the biggest Access to Information project in the Pan-Caribbean, in the form of a CARICOM-wide Help Desk initiative.

The ATI Help Desk was launched by the Media Institute of the Caribbean (MIC) during the second of a four-part workshop series on ATI.

“We know how important ATI is for journalists and the wider society,” says MIC President Kiran Maharaj.

“We’re hoping to help guide people through the complexities of the ATI application process, to give advice where necessary, and to generally encourage much wider use of the ATI law, given its importance to democracy.”

“ATI laws promote transparency and accountability. By providing access to state-held information, ATI laws make it easier for citizens and non-governmental organisations to understand the workings of government and decisions that are being made.”

“They therefore make it easier to hold government to account, and to understand how tax dollars are being spent. UNESCO has called on all countries to adopt guarantees of freedom of information.”

The virtual Help Desk, powered by TypeForm, is a cloud-based, secure platform for journalists, civil societies and private individuals to submit their ATI Requests to MIC for review, monitoring and advice.

The main objectives of the Help Desk are to monitor and record freedom of the press violations in the English-speaking Caribbean and where necessary, to provide legal opinions to journalists whose freedom of the press is being violated.

We also plan to use the information collected to strengthen MIC’s advocacy for the protection of freedom of the press by providing recommendations to fill the gaps in existing laws, and to put forward a model policy and legislative framework for ATI laws for countries without such laws.

In addition to the Help Desk, MIC on Monday also announced the ATI Advocacy Toolkit that was created as a guide and resource for journalists and other citizens seeking to have ATI legislation enacted in their countries.

The Tool Kit is a repository of information, including recommended steps for lobbying for laws in countries where they do not exist, key talking and research points when lobbying, frequently asked questions, an op-ed on the importance of ATI and lists of recommended support organisations and letter templates.

The Help Desk and Advocacy Toolkit are now available and submissions are now open. The new initiatives will be discussed further at the remaining two webinars in the ATI workshop series, namely “A Human Rights Perspective on Access to Information” on January 23rd and “The reality of FOI and ATI and moving forward” on January 30th.