Artigenda
International Day for Universal Access to Information
When: Annually, September 28.
The International Day for Universal Access to Information is an annual day that has existed since 2019 and takes place on 28 September. The day is there to focus on the right-to-know things for global citizens.
UNESCO came up with the idea of making 28 September a day to have the right to know things under the name International Right to Know Day (2002). That day later became The International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI) or: the International Day for Universal Access to Information.
International Right to Know Day
Since 2019, the day has been an official United Nations (UN) proclaimed so-called UN observance (UN observance). Yet the actual history of the day itself is older. It dates back to 2015 when the day was first proposed by UNESCO. This made it the successor to International Right to Know Day. It was in 2016, when 28 September marked International Universal Access to Information Day for the first time.
The change of name had everything to do with the interpretation of the day. Whereas earlier it seemed to be about the right to know things, this day went further. Citizens worldwide do not just have the right to know things. They also have the right to know things through access.
Pressure
Although the day came about mainly thanks to pressure from several African countries, it was indeed an international day. In several African countries, all this is still not a given, while people would like to see this change. This applies to more countries, by the way.
