Our final session covered the procedures that will need to be in place for the expected approval of a Right to Information bill in Maldives. Hilmy has just returned from a South Asia summit on freedom of information. While Maldives is ahead of many other countries in the region, they still have a way to go in overcoming what has been called a "feudal" society where island leaders reach their decisions in secret. Many thanks to Debra Gersh Hernandez at ASNE and the folks at the New York Department of State for helping out with the teaching materials.
The Maldives College of Higher Education awarded beautifully printed certificates to the particpants, crediting the US State Department for the funding, and I was proud to sign my name on them as a Fulbright specialist. A representative of the president's office awarded the certificates and then we all crowded on stage for one last picture. I hope this is the beginning of a much longer conversation about the public's right to know in the Maldives.
Our final session covered the procedures that will need to be in place for the expected approval of a Right to Information bill in Maldives. Hilmy has just returned from a South Asia summit on freedom of information. While Maldives is ahead of many other countries in the region, they still have a way to go in overcoming what has been called a "feudal" society where island leaders reach their decisions in secret. Many thanks to Debra Gersh Hernandez at ASNE and the folks at the New York Department of State for helping out with the teaching materials.
The Maldives College of Higher Education awarded beautifully printed certificates to the particpants, crediting the US State Department for the funding, and I was proud to sign my name on them as a Fulbright specialist. A representative of the president's office awarded the certificates and then we all crowded on stage for one last picture. I hope this is the beginning of a much longer conversation about the public's right to know in the Maldives.
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