Sunshine Week 2021 events will be held virtually from March 15 - 18, 2021, coinciding with National Sunshine Week. Registered guests are invited to attend events on information access and government transparency issues facing North Carolina citizens.
The North Carolina Open Government Coalition will hold its annual Sunshine Week events during the week of March 15, 2021.
The annual program invites journalists, citizens, government officials, transparency advocates and students from around the state to come together to learn from open government experts and discuss ways to improve government accountability and information access in North Carolina. All events are free, virtual, and open to the public (registration required).
Registration for Sunshine Week 2021 is free via EventBrite.
The program includes the following activities:
Reporters from the NC Watchdog Reporting Network will discuss the annual Sunshine Week reporting project. This year, the collaborative project focuses on accountability in law enforcement. Reporters Laura Lee (Carolina Public Press), Lucille Sherman (News & Observer), and Nick Ochsner ’11 (WBTV-Charlotte) make up the panel, which will be held March 15 from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Melanie Sill, director of the NC Local News Workshop, will moderate the discussion.
A panel of experts will discuss Barriers to Equity in Information Access. Journalists Lisa Sorg (NC Policy Watch) and Victoria Bouloubasis will be joined by attorney and disability rights advocate Susan Pollitt (Disability Rights NC) to discuss creating more equitable access to information for underserved populations. The virtual panel will be held March 17 from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Kate Martin (Carolina Public Press) will moderate the discussion.
Frank LoMonte, director of the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information, will lead a workshop on Transparency in Higher Education with a focus on helping student journalists and reporters covering universities in North Carolina. The virtual event will be held March 18 from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Kate Murphy ’15 (News & Observer) and Chloe Easton (The East Carolinian) will moderate the discussion.
All events will be held via Zoom. Sign up for a Zoom account here. Registered guests will receive Zoom login information one week before the scheduled events. For more information, please e-mail the NC Open Government Coalition at ncopengov@elon.edu.
The North Carolina Open Government Coalition is a non-partisan, non-profit 501(c)(3). To support the coalition’s work, click here.