The 10th annual “Golden Key and Rusty Lock” award ceremony initiated by the Freedom of Information Center took place on September 28- the International Right to Know Day.

An independent jury awarded a Golden Key, as a symbol of open and transparent work, to the following organizations and people:

• RA Ministry of Healthcare as a state institution that was best applied the Armenian FOI Law
• The official website (www.mta.gov.am) of the Ministry of Territorial Administration was recognized as the best official website in terms of information access
• “Journalists for the Future” NGO was awarded as an NGO that best used the right for access to information
• Anna Israelyan (www.aravot.am and “Azatutyun” Radio Station) was awarded as a journalist that best used the right for access to information
• www.civilnet.am was awarded as a media outlet that most actively covers FOI issues

This is the first time that the jury has been unable to select the most secret state body, therefore the negative Rusty Lock award, a symbol of secrecy, was not announced.

“This is a great indicator that shows the consistent work done by us and our partners to promote access to information. It also demonstrates the continued efforts of the government to ensure transparency,” said FOICA President Shushan Doydoyan.

This year the FOICA Special Award was given to the RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the initiative of Armenia’s membership to the Open Government Partnership (OGP) International Initiative and for developing and presenting a comprehensive country Action Plan in OGP.

note that the Golden Key fell down from the hands of the Health Minister and broke into pieces.

By` a1plus.am