Sunshine Week Promotes Open Government

West Deptford Patch is participating in Sunshine Week this week by promoting and celebrating open government and freedom of information.

We aim to engage our communities in conversation about the importance of the public’s right to know and educate them about local and state freedom of information and so-called sunshine laws and the public records that are available, how to get, use and decipher them, and explain how and why journalists use them to further our core mission of covering and informing our communities.

First, a little background on Sunshine Week, which was launched in 2005 by the American Society of Newspaper Editors. Sunshine Week is a national initiative to promote a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information. Participants include news media, civic groups, libraries, nonprofits, schools and others interested in the public's right to know. 

The week, March 13-19, is funded primarily by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation of Miami, along with the ASNE Foundation. There are games, proclamations and more all brought to you by the Sunshine Week team, which we have shared with you.

Join us in West Deptford Patch and spread a little sunshine around town.

Start with a Sunshine Week Open Government Proclamation
In recognizing earlier Sunshine Weeks, many public officials around the country issued proclamations extolling openness in government. A few introduced significant open government legislation or signed executive orders. It’s time the pronouncements become actions and the few become the many.

This Sunshine Week, we urge citizens to press their public officials to do more, seeking not just broad statements of support for greater transparency but specific pledges and plans of action to enhance the public’s right to know.

Sunshine Week 2011 can be a time when you as a citizen or civic organization make a difference by identifying local or state open government shortcomings and then asking your public officials to pledge and initiate specific improvements in local or state law and practice.

To assist your efforts, the Sunshine Week team presents a sample Open Government Proclamation that you, or your group, can take to your public officials to seek a commitment on open government with specific action that will lead to increased transparency. Like all proclamations, it begins with a general statement of the benefits of open government at every level.

That is followed by a sampling of open government provisions that brought greater transparency to local and state governments around the country. We offer these as examples of the kind of specific action that may be needed in and appropriate, both locally and in New Jersey.

We hope you and/or your organization will find these useful in considering what sunshine commitments are needed in your government and in crafting a specific proclamation and action pledge to present to your public officials.

Let us know if you are successful by contacting dmk@asne.org and writing "Sunshine Week Proclamation" in the subject line. If your government’s action was reported by the media, send along the link(s). We plan an “Honor Roll” on this website of government entities that adopt Sunshine Week open government pledges and/or take specific actions.

Here is the Sunshine Week Open Government Proclamation PDF and a link: sunshineweek.org/proclamation.aspx

Play the You’re a Ray of Sunshine Game
The Sunshine Week team designed this game to challenge you, help you have some fun and learn about why open government and freedom of information in the U.S. is to be cherished and held to high standards. Play it here: game.sunshineweek.org/

Get Smart about the Public’s Right to Know
Read up. There are resources for teachers, including lesson plans so young people can participate: hsj.org/Services/index.cfm?menu_id=9

There’s also a host of resources on open government assembled by the Sunshine Week team: sunshineweek.org/ReadingRoom.aspx

To read more about Sunshine Week, visit sunshineweek.org

Sunshine in New Jersey
For more information on the specifics of New Jersey's Open Public Records Act, check out the state's OPRA website.

Locally, West Deptford provides its OPRA request form online, which has to be filed with the township clerk at the municipal building.