The third lot of the 5-day training cum internship on practical use of RTI began at SAP Falcha of Thapathali, Kathmandu on November 22 (Thursday), 2012. It is organized by the freedom1 Forum as part of its strategic campaign for promoting demand for information so as to produce a group of RTI activists and promote its practices at local level in a sustainable manner. Ten emerging activists from different districts of the country have participated in the training where they are imparted theoretical session in the morning and thorough practical session in the afternoon. It is aimed at making them able to identify cases of RTI, 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. FF Chairman Taranath Dahal welcomed the participants and briefly spoke about the overall importance of the training. Similarly, journalist and facilitator Dharmendra Jha and RTI Support Centre Facilitator at FF, Sanjeeb Ghimire, shed light on the objective of the training. During the training, 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. The trainees are- Kalpana Shahi from Kalikot, Rabindra Kumar Rokaya of Jumla, Khadga Bahadur BC of Jajarkot, Pradip Kumar Mandal of Siraha, Priti Yadav from Mahottari, Narbada Pande from Nawalparasi, Yam Kumari Khatri from Kapilvastu, Sarita Sapkota from Bara, Sher Bahadur Bhujel from Dolakha and Kamal Khadka from Bajhang district.
Freedom Forum is a prominent non-governmental organization in Nepal dedicated to institutionalizing democracy, protecting and promoting human rights, press freedom, freedom of expression, right to information, promoting audit accountability, open and accountable budget, public finance reforms, citizen engagement in public finance management and citizen participation in audit. Established in February 2005, the organization emerged in response to the political turmoil following Former King Gyanendra’s coup dated February 1, 2005, which imposed severe restrictions on media and democratic rights. A group of media professionals, legal experts, and academics founded Freedom Forum to safeguard Nepal’s hard-earned democratic freedoms during this repressive period.
