SKOPJE, 02.02.2018 – The Association of Journalists of Macedonia will sign a Memorandum of Cooperation with the Commission for Protection of the Right to Free Access to Public Information, which will create possibility to raise the level of social transparency and it will ease and simplify the way that journalists get information from state institutions.
This was agreed at yesterday’s meeting between representatives of AJM and the Commission. At the meeting, it was also discussed how to achieve close cooperation between AJM and the Commission in order to improve the transparency of public institutions, but also to enable faster and more efficient access of the media and citizens to public information.
President of AJM Naser Selmani said that mutual cooperation should be beneficial for all. “Through closer cooperation, journalists will learn more about the law on free access to public information, and at the same time it will raise the awareness of the citizens and institutions for the importance of the openness of the institutions,” Selmani said.
The head of the commission, Gjorgji Slamkov, emphasized that the new law is in process, which should enable better and more efficient functioning of this body, while at the same time it will open the possibility for greater and more intensive cooperation with several social stakeholders.
The Memorandum of Cooperation envisages training for journalists on efficient use of the legal possibility for free access to public information, as well as public campaigns which will help institutions to become more transparent.