To create more awareness and knowledge in Brazil about the country's young Public Information Law -- which was approved two years ago on May 16, 2012 -- the Brazilian Investigative Journalism Association (Abraji) published this week on its site the guide in Portuguese “Public Information Law -- What you need to know,” with the financial support of UNESCO's International Program for the Development of Communication.
The guide summarizes the law's main points in direct and accessible language with the purpose of facilitating the use of the norm. It also features detailed content on the key aspects of the law like active transparency, resources and limits to confidentiality, and other related laws, according to Abraji.
A report published in October of last year by the General Comptroller's Office of the Union (CGU) showed that journalists filed the most information requests during the law's first 18 months.
With the guide, Abraji also launched a project that aims to improve awareness of the law among journalists and will lead to the opening of three online training groups.
To download the guide in Portuguese, click here.
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
