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October Meeting Will Dive Into Future of Transparency in DC and Link to National and Global Efforts

Fritz Mulhauser | September 26, 2024 | Last modified: November 20, 2024

UPDATE 11-20-24: GSA has posted video of the session, available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pb56u-xRrs&list=PLvdwyPgXnxxUZ9uzcRN7M32TvlOZYNF2S&index=5.

The DC Open Government Coalition has announced an October 15 in-person event: Global to Local: Lessons for Open Government & Civic Engagement for DC. This event is co-organized by the DC Open Government Coalition and the U.S. General Services Administration’s, U.S. Open Government Secretariat

The Open Government Partnership is a global organization that encourages governments to develop action plans and policies with public input and provides a framework to monitor progress and share best practices. The U.S. Open Government Secretariat, established by GSA, collaborates with leads from the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to guide our nation’s participation in the Open Government Partnership and strengthen public engagement.

This non-partisan event will feature an overview of international/national open government efforts and how they relate to local communities such as DC. Specifically, the event will set the stage for discussing transparency reform for all DC residents, including the DC Open Government Coalition’s proposal that the DC Council establish a Transparency Reform Commission. 

Space is limited, so registration is required. Sign up soon to assure a seat.  

Event Details:

Date: Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Time: 5:00pm – 6:30pm ET

Location:  Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Public Library  –  901 G St NW Washington, DC 20001; Metro: Gallery Place on the Red, Green, and Yellow lines 

Participants: 40 (in person only)

RSVP: Due to space constraints, no more than 40 local participants may attend the in-person event. REGISTRATION LINK

Additional Information: 

This event will be open to the public and recorded. The final attendee list, agenda, meeting recording, and high-level notes of the discussion will all be posted to the U.S. Open Government Secretariat Public Engagement website.  

Please feel free to share this invitation with others interested.

Agenda:

5:00 p.m. Welcome, Kirsten Mitchell, President of the DC Open Government Coalition 

5:05 p.m. Overview of international/national open government efforts and how they relate to local communities such as DC, Daniel York, Director, U.S. Open Government Secretariat, U.S. General Services Administration 

5:15 p.m. Keynote Speaker, Kathleen Patterson, D.C. Auditor 

5:30 p.m. Panel on Establishing a Transparency Reform Commission in DC

Speakers:

  • Niquelle Allen, Director of the DC Office of Open Government (confirmed) 
  • Ginger McCall, former Public Records Advocate, state of Oregon (confirmed)
  • Robert Becker, Coalition board member who has drafted legislation to create a transparency reform commission in DC (confirmed)

Moderator: Tom Susman, Founder, DC Open Government Coalition, and five-term member of the federal FOIA Advisory Committee

6:10 p.m. Q & A/Feedback 

6:25 p.m. Closing remarks