The President of the Republic, Mr Danny Faure, attended the official opening of the Consultative Forum on Access to Information, held at Eden Bleu Hotel this morning. It was officially launched by the Chief Executive Officer of the Seychelles Media Commission, Mr Ibrahim Afif.

The two-day conference was organised by the Seychelles Media Commission in collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

This Forum seeks to promote, educate and sensitise the participants on access to Information Bill for Seychelles, by giving various Ministries, Departments and Agencies the opportunity to share how they gather data, statistics and information. Participants are expected to better understand what platforms to be used to make these available and what they can make available to the public.

During the ceremony, which was also attended by the Vice President Vincent Meriton and other dignitaries, participants present heard the 2018 message on the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day read by Secretary General of the Seychelles National Commission for UNESCO who is also the Chairman of the Seychelles Media Commission, Dr Marie-Reine Hoareau.

There was also a presentation by the Ombudsman, Mrs Nichole Tirant-Ghérardi entitled ‘Ombudsman – Bridging the Information Divide to Keep Power in Check’.

In 2015 the Seychelles Media Commission organised a symposium to draft recommendations for the Draft Bill on Access to Information. There were participants from government institutions, National Human Rights Institutions, Electoral Management Bodies, Regional Economic Communities, Traditional Governance Institutions, Anti-Corruption institutions, academics and civil society organisations. Following this, the proposal was submitted to the Government, and the Bill went into White Paper stage in 2016. All recommendations were submitted to the Department of Information at the end of 2017 and the Bill is currently tabled at the National Assembly.