The first lot of the 5-day orientation on practical use of RTI Act organized by the freedom1 Forum in its Office, Thapathali, Kathmandu, from September 9 concluded successfully.
It was organized as part of the strategic campaign for promoting demand for information so as to
produce a strategic group of RTI activists and promote its practices at local level in a sustainable
manner.
At the concluding day, FF Chairman Taranath Dahal said the 5-day training was a part of FF’s campaign
to create RTI campaigners across the country. He expressed hope that the Action Plan formulated by the trainees on the use of RTI application would be implemented in the local level thereby spreading the RTI regime by making local public agencies transparent and accountable to the people. Through the training, the trainees must have acquired knowledge to seek information with public agencies, he added.
FF Vice-Chairman Hari Binod Adhikari said the RTI is linked to everyday activity. The knowledge and
skills gained during the training would be best utilized making people aware of the RTI.
Program Officer at The Asia Foundation, Sumit Sharma Samir, said once the knowledge the trained acquired in the training implement in their respective sectors it would be a tremendous achievement because the role of RTI was gaining ground in Nepal.
On the occasion, training facilitator and FF member Dharmendra Jha thanked the trainees for their active participation and wished success in the use of RTI in their respective fields.
Another facilitator Sanjeeb Ghimire said all were together in the use of RTI and a network was built to spread awareness about this.
The trainees thanked the organizing body for providing knowledge on such significant issue that would enlighten their community and advocate rights.
A trainee Munna Miya from Nawalparasi, a district in the southern plain of the country, thanked the FF for providing a new opportunity to learn about burning issue of RTI, a tool to democratic practice.
All of the trainees made commitment that they would fully implement the action plan they formulated in the training and try to make local public bodies transparent and accountable.
The training was facilitated by FF Chairman Dahal, member and journalist Dharmendra Jha, Coordinator at RTI Support Center at FF Sanjeeb Ghimire, FF Executive Director Krishna Sapkota, and Administrative Officer Anirundra Neupane.
During the practical training, the participants were imparted theoretical session in the morning and thorough practical session in the afternoon. It was aimed at making them able to identify cases of filing application demanding public and individual service related information, practice the entire processes involved in requesting information, follow-up of the request, complaint and appeal in the line with the RTI Act 2007 and Regulations-2008.
Under the practical session, the trainees visited different public bodies and filed 10 applications seeking information on different sectors as health, education, electricity and others.
The trainees were taken to the National Information Commission for exposure visit on September 12, 2012. They visited the RTI Centre in the Commission, held interaction with the NIC Secretary, Commissioners and officials.
During the interaction with the NIC officials, Acting Chief Information Commissioner Shree Acharya said the Commission takes the orientation on RTI as the expansion of the Commission scope and activities. The orientation on RTI provided by the FF would help spread RTI regime across the country and make public agencies in the local level transparent and accountable to the people.
The achievement of the trainees was also the achievement of the Commission, he added.
It is compulsory for each intern that they file five applications that include three public interests information and two relating personal services such as pension, scholarship, government allowance, health, education etc.