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The Strong Foundation Grants $25,000 To Honolulu Community Media Council On May 18, 2004 the Honolulu Community Media Council has been granted $25,000 from The Strong Foundation to establish and support the Youth Speakers Bureau Community Outreach Project of the Honolulu Community Media Council. Under this project, members of the Honolulu Community Media Council will speak to Hawaii’s students and community organizations on First Amendment Rights and the Media, Media and Democracy, Freedom of Information and Democracy and Understanding the Media and Media Literacy. The project is intended to educate youth and the community about the media and the media’s role in open government, the public’s First Amendment rights and the public’s rights under Hawaii’s freedom of information laws. The Hawaii State Legislature adopted its current freedom of information law in 1988. The relationship between our First Amendment rights, freedom of information laws, and the media’s role in our democracy are critical to an open government. While the media’s role in supporting the public’s right to know is fairly well known, less known is the citizen’s right to access government-held information. In combination, a free press and the public’s right to know are essential to a transparent and accountable government and make possible citizen involvement in formulating social policies in the decision making process of government. In recent years, over 50 countries have passed some sort of legislation regarding freedom of information or the rights of its citizens to access government held information. Through this project, the Honolulu Community Media Council will promote a greater appreciation, knowledge and understanding of our rights as citizens to participate in the decision making process of government and to ensure that the public's business is conducted in public. |
