The overall project objectives are:
1. Stimulate use of the access to information law by civil society groups through training and legal assistance, targeting the potential requestors of information.
2. Rationalize and improve the information systems and transparency of selected governmental institutions.
3. Conduct advocacy based on the analysis of the FOI law and information.
The project is organized through four different components:
1. Civil Society Support: CDDI organized trainings with the civil society in the cities of Shkoder and Tirana, as well as trainings with students from “UFO” university in Tirana and women organizations in Tirana on “The Right of Access to Government-Held Information” Law. The trainings focused on the familiarization of the participants with the law on “The Right of Access to Government-Held Information” and how it relates to each targeted group and ways to enforce and exercise the law with the legal assistance by CDDI. CDDI’s support extended to assisting identification of information needs, developing requests and also guidance on filing administrative appeals.
2. Awareness Raising: On September 28, on the International “Right To Know Day”, CDDI organized a reception with participants from the Civil Society, representatives from the diplomatic body, different international agencies that have their activities in Albania, public institutions etc which were familiarized with the project and its goals. During this meeting CDDI presented its latest translation, the book “Court Cases on the Right to Information in Bulgaria”. To raise awareness CDDI constructed a website with all the necessary information and provided telephone support for the public.
3. Monitoring: CDDI decided to monitor the process of transparency in Tirana’s 10 Municipalities. Hence, the staff of CDDI made three kinds of requests for information (financial, list of markets and organizative structure of the institutions). The requests were sent to the Municipalities of Tirana.
4. Litigation: After the end of the terms of the administrative complains CDDI chose the Municipalities that had not answered or refused to answer the requests for information and prepared for them the third phase, the submission of the case in trial through the Accusation Request. CDDI sent 3 Municipalities in trial, Nr. 4, 5, and 9.