With Africa celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration, fesmedia Africa launches its new series of AMB Briefs with a closer look at the state of access to information in countries covered be the African Media Barometer (AMB), thereby complementing numerous freedom of information initiatives taking place across the continent.

Few states meet even the minimum standards for access to information (ATI) laid down for instance in the 2002 Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression in Africa. Throughout the continent, ATI is, at best, just beginning to take root and, at worst, being further eroded. Even the continents' trailblazers are struggling to manintain the impetus created by progressive ATI reform. Read more:

    "AMB BRIEF - One Step Forwards, Two Steps Back
    Trends in Access to Information from the African Media Barometer 2005 - 2010"
    written by David Lush

e.g. about the lack of political will to implement ATI legislation in Uganda, "red tape" in Mali and the provisions of South africa's Promotion of ATI Act "looking good on paper". ECOWAS, EAC, and SADC, each comprise a few countries with progressive legislation and a degree of commitment towards promoting ATI, but most demonstrating neither.
The campaign for ATI has only just begun.