Rutgers University in Newark Hosts First Global Conference on Governmental Transparency

The first of its kind, this conference brings together approximately 150 leading scholars in the fields of sociology, anthropology, political science, public administration, economics, political economy, journalism, business, and law to discuss issues of governmental transparency. The range of discourse will include policies on access to information held by governments concerning individuals and other governments. The conference also will cover transparency relationships between and among governments and private and nonprofit institutions.

“1st Global Conference on Transparency Research”

WHAT: A conference to advance understanding of the impact and implications of transparency policies that involve governments, directly or indirectly.

WHO: Dr. Christopher Hood will deliver the keynote address on Thursday, May 19. Hood is the Gladstone Professor of Government and Fellow of All Souls College at the University of Oxford. He has written extensively on the topics of transparency and accountability, and co-edited Transparency: The Key to Better Governance (Oxford University Press, 2006).

Final Plenary Session – “Next Steps in Transparency Research”:

Alasdair Roberts, Rappaport Professor of Law and Public Policy at Suffolk University Law School, Boston, MA, serving as moderator

Yamini Aiyar, director of the Accountability Initiative, India

Eduardo Bertoni, director of the Center for Studies on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information at Palermo University School of Law, Argentina

David Heald, professor of accountancy at the University of Aberdeen Business School

Maeve McDonagh, law professor at University College Cork, Ireland

Marcos Mendiburu, social development specialist at the World Bank Institute

From Rutgers University, Newark:

Professor Bernard Bell, School of Law – Newark, serving as a panel moderator

Associate Professor Sanjay Pandey, School of Public Affairs and Administration, serving as a panel moderator

Associate Professor Suzanne Piotrowski, School of Public Affairs and Administration, serving as conference chair

Assistant Professor Larry Miller, School of Public Affairs and Administration, serving as a panel moderator

WHEN:

Wednesday, May 18, 5-7 pm

Thursday, May 19, 8:30 am – 10 pm

Friday, May 20, 8:30 am – 4 pm

WHERE: Rutgers University in Newark, New Jersey, Center for Law and Justice, 123 Washington Street

SPONSORS:

Rutgers School of Law – Newark, United States of America

Center for Studies on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information, School of Law, University of Palermo, Argentina

The Constitution Unit, University College London, United Kingdom

Governance: An International Journal of Policy, Administration and Institutions

School of Public Administration, Renmin University of China

School of Public Administration and Public Policy, Kookmin University, Korea

School of Public Affairs and Administration, Rutgers University – Newark, United States of America

This conference is made possible through a generous grant from the Louis and Samuel Pratt Program for Freedom of Information.

PROGRAM CONTACT:

For more information about this program, please contact the conference chair, Dr. Suzanne Piotrowski, at 973-353-5199 or visit http://spaa.newark.rutgers.edu/home/conferences/1stgctr.html.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Members of the media wishing to cover this event, please contact the Office of Communications at Rutgers University in Newark, 973-353-5262.