Event
Seminar "Public Information as a Common Good: Challenges, Opportunities and Gaps in Chile and the World"
The seminar titled "Public Information as a Common Good: Challenges, Opportunities and Gaps in Chile and the World" is organised by the UNESCO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, the University of Santiago, Chile (USACH), and Wikimedia Chile, as part of the commemoration of the International Day for Universal Access to Information.
Access to information has been widely recognised as a fundamental pillar of modern democratic societies. The proclamation of the International Day for Universal Access to Information by the United Nations General Assembly, followed by UNESCO's promotion of this celebration since 2015, highlights the need to ensure that citizens have access to clear, truthful, and relevant information.
In an era marked by digital transformation, the ability to access quality public information has become essential for informed decision-making and for empowering citizens. However, despite significant progress in various regions of the world, there are still major challenges that limit equitable access to information, both in terms of technological barriers and the existence of appropriate legal frameworks.
The seminar will seek to analyse these challenges and reflect on the opportunities available to strengthen access to information in Chile and other parts of the world. It will address the importance of considering public information as a common good, accessible to all people regardless of their geographic, economic, or social situation.
Participants
PhD David Jofré Leiva: Academic at the School of Journalism, Faculty of Humanities, University of Santiago. PhD in Political Science and Master’s in Political Communication from the University of Glasgow.
Javier GarcÃa: President of the Communication Rights Observatory (ODC). Doctor of Law and Master’s in Fundamental Rights, specialising in freedom of information. Research academic at the Faculty of Law, Universidad de las Américas.
Patricia DÃaz Rubio: Executive Director of Wikimedia Chile. Social communicator and journalist from the University of Chile. Master’s in Local Political Communication from the University of Orléans and Master’s in Development Sociology from the Pantheon-Sorbonne University in Paris.
Moderator
Dr Ximena Orchard: Associate researcher at the School of Journalism, University of Santiago. Director of the Centre for Public Communication Studies (CECOMP) and associate researcher at the Millennium Nucleus for the Study of Media, Politics and Public Opinion (MEPOP).
