International Right to Know Day For the first time, MISA joined the rest of the world in celebrating International Right to Know Day on September 28. MISA Mozambique and Swaziland used the day to launch a review of the state of the right to information in their respective countries. Lessons Learnt Weaknesses Research was undertaken in 2006 to assess and review lessons learnt during the three-year pilot of MISA’s Right to Information Campaign, formerly known as the ASK Campaign. Except for Angola, the remaining 10 countries in which MISA operates were reviewed. One of the listed major weaknesses of the campaign was the lack of a coherent advocacy strategy, limited resources and inadequate organisational capacity to carry out an effective campaign. Furthermore, the narrow focus of the campaign on the right to information as a political right could not draw sufficient support from civil society. The right to information is perceived as a concern for the media rather than a socio-economic issue affecting all citizens. (Note: For further information on the findings, a full copy of the review is available from MISA in hard copy.) Opportunities & Threats The findings of the study provided MISA with a great opportunity to redesign a new advocacy strategy to include greater public participation by shifting the emphasis on the right to information to a socio-economic right affecting people’s access to other rights like health, education and employment. The biggest threat and challenge to the campaign is indifference from policymakers and a deeply ingrained culture of government secrecy. The former points to the lack of belief and reluctance of policymakers to enact right to information legislation, perhaps due to insufficient resources and capacity or, most likely, the fear that such a law will result in their inherent loss of power. Way forward The right to information remains one of MISA’s highest priorities for 2007/2008. The biggest challenge for the campaign is to build public pressure on the call for the right to information. This will only happen when ordinary people can be convinced that a poor education system, corruption or poor public services, for example, are due to a lack of access to information. Unless the right to access information is legislated, life will remain the same. Annual Report 2007 15