Sunshine Week Events for Friday, March 15th

Sunshine Week events in the D.C. area for Friday, March 15th:

Cato XML (event is for Thursday and Friday)
The Cato Institute, Washington, DC
The Cato is hosting a Sunshine Week workshop looking at legislative data and Wikipedia. The first session, Thursday from 2:30-5:30 p.m., is designed for people of all technical skill levels and will cover Wikipedia editing, policies and culture. Participants are encouraged to bring a laptop. Immediately following at 5:30 p.m., Cato will host a Sunshine Week reception. Friday’s daylong workshop for qualified Wikipedians and legislative data practitioners will be led by Pete Forsyth of Wiki Strategies, and is about making Wikipedia more informative about legislation and public policy. Participants can select one or all of the sessions and reception to attend. More information and registration information is on the Cato website.

National Freedom of Information DayFirst Amendment Center, Newseum, Washington, DC
The daylong 15th annual National Freedom of Information Day conference will be held at the Knight Conference Center at the Newseum in Washington. In morning sessions, OpenTheGovernment.org will present its 8th annual Sunshine Week examination of the state of openness in the federal government, focusing this year on outlook for the president’s second term. Also on the day’s agenda: a keynote discussion with First Amendment attorney Floyd Abrams; a discussion of the new documentary, “Whistleblowers”; the American Library Association will present its James Madison Award. There is no charge to attend, but attendees are encouraged to register in advance to guarantee seating. A PDF of the full agenda is on the Openthegovernment.org site. For registration information, see the Freedom of Information Day announcement.

Luncheon and Speaker Thomas DrakeNational Press Club, Washington, DC
The National Press Club will host former National Security Agency analyst Thomas Drake, a government whistleblower charged under the Espionage Act, at a luncheon beginning at 12:30 p.m., followed by Drake’s remarks and a question-and-answer period. Tickets are $21 for members (limit 2) and $35 for non-members.For more information and to make reservations, visit the Press Club website.

Panel: The Right to Photograph and Record in PublicShoot Off Visual Media Workshop, Arlington, VA
An afternoon panel discussion during workshops for military and civil service photographers will address the First Amendment right to photograph and record events in public. Led by National Press Photographers Association General Counsel Mickey Osterreicher, panelists will include: Washington Metropolitan Police Department Public Information Officer Gwendolyn Crump; Attorney Mary Borja of Wiley Rein LLP in Washington; and White House News Photographers Association President Ron Sachs of Consolidated News. For more information, go to the Shoot Off Visual Media Workshops website.