NPC Marks 'Sunshine Week' with forum, happy hour next week

Next week is "Sunshine Week," an annual mid-March discussion of the importance of open government, and the National Press Club will mark it by cosponsoring a forum and a happy hour on back-to-back nights.

On Tuesday, March 13, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., the National Press Club's Freedom of the Press Committee and the D.C. Open Government Coalition will present the D.C. Open Government Summit, on the state of government transparency in the District. A reception follows.

The D.C. Open Government Coalition works to enhance the public's access to government information and ensure transparency in the D.C. government.

The event will feature speakers from the D.C. government and members of the news media who use open government laws to cover them. D.C. Councilor Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4) will share remarks on the Open Meetings Act of 2010 and on potential changes to the D.C. Freedom of Information Act. The event will also feature Ariel B. Levinson-Waldman, senior counsel to the D.C. attorney general; V. David Zvenyach, general counsel to the D.C. Council; Mark Segraves, reporter and talk show host for WTOP Radio, ABC 7 News and DC 50 TV; and Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

The forum is open to all free of charge without reservations.

Then, on Wednesday, March 14, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., the Press Freedom Committee is cosponsoring a networking happy hour, "Sunshine at Sundown". The committee and a coalition of groups will discuss transparency in government.

The coalition comprises the National Press Club, Openthegovernment.org, Online News Association, ASNE, POPVOX, ProPublica, Public Campaign, Public Citizen, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Sunlight Foundation and United Republic
There is no charge for admission to the happy hour, but please register here.