Freedom of Information Center announces for the 13th time the recipients of the “Golden Key and Rusty Lock” awards on 28 September 2015 in Yerevan. The award ceremony was devoted to the International Right to Know Day.
RA Vice Prime Minister, Ministry of International Economic Integration and Reforms Mr. Vache Gabrielyan welcomed the guests on this occasion and stressed the importance of transparency and openness in the government system of Armenia.
The Head of OSCE Office in Yerevan, Ambassador Andrey Sorokin, said: “The right of access to information is enshrined in many OSCE documents as one of the foundations of democratic society, which has an enormous power to promote transparency and accountability of state institutions. Since its establishment the OSCE Office in Yerevan has been working with the Armenian authorities and civil society in improving the regulatory framework related to freedom of information. Taking this opportunity, I would like to commend all the institutions that will receive golden keys today, but also to encourage everyone to remain persistent in their efforts to receive information”.
The Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Mr Piotr Switalski mentioned in his welcoming speech: “Transparency and freedom of information are key factors to reduce corruption by letting the Armenian citizens interact with their public services. The EU Delegation notes that Armenia’s worldwide ranking in the Global Right to Information is good. However, further steps are needed to enhance the participation of the citizens and the civil society in the implementation and monitoring of public policies”.
The host of the event President of the Freedom of Information Centre of Armenia Shushan Doydoyan welcomed the guests and announced the winners. The independent jury awarded the following institutions with Golden Keys, as a symbol of openness and transparency:
- Award for the most transparent institution was presented to the Kotayk Governor’s office;
- The Best Freedom of Information Reformer was recognized Mr. Suren Krmoyan, Deputy Minister of RA Minister of Justice;
- Award for the institutions which has best implemented Open Government Partnership Commitments was awarded to the Staff of the RA Government;
- The Best Community Initiative within the framework of OGP was recognized The Ministry of Territorial Administration and Emergency Situations;
- Award for an NGO that best used the right for access to information was presented to the “Informed and Protected Consumer” NGO;
- Award for the most consistent human rights advocate of the right of access to information was presented to Mr. Arayik Ghazaryan;
- Award for the media outlet for most actively using FOI Law was presented to the Yerkir Media TV Company;
- Award for the journalist/media outlet most actively covering FOI issues was presented to the Liberty radio station/Armenia;
- The best official web site in terms of access to information was recognized the official website of the Ministry of Agriculture: www.minagro.am
The independent jury awarded the following institution with Rusty Lock, as a symbol of secrecy:
- Negative award for a state institution, which is the author of the most ridiculous official answer, was presented to the Armavir Municipilaty.
The winners of positive and negative awards were decided by the independent jury represented by 8 organizations in the Freedom of Information sphere. The selection criteria for the most open and secret agencies can be found at https://www.foi.am/en/award-standards. The previous years results are available here https://www.foi.am/en/awards-winners/.
The Award Ceremony was organized by the Freedom of information Center of Armenia NGO in cooperation with the Armenian Young Lawyers Association with the financial assistance of the OSCE Office in Yerevan and the European Union.
