The BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association, with support from BCLA, is pleased to offer a free hands-on workhop on filing Freedom of Information requests. The event will be facilitated by Mike Larsen from Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Details for the event below and registration will be limited and is on a first come – first serve basis. Please rsvp to Tyler Morgenstern, Program Director for BC FIPA at tyler@fipa.bc.ca and NOT to me.

FOI 101: A Hands-on Skills Training Workshop & Book Launch
When: Thursday July 25th, 2013 | 1 PM-4 PM
Where: The People’s Law School, 900 Howe Street, Vancouver
Cost: Free, Donations Appreciated

Snacks and light refreshments provided

RSVP with your name, email, phone number, and institutional affiliation (optional) to tyler@fipa.bc.ca no later than noon on July 22nd

Registration is limited to three seats per order Attendance is capped at 30 attendees

On July 25th, join the B.C. Freedom of Information and Privacy Association as we launch our brand new educational resource–Access in the Academy: Bringing ATI and FOI to Academic Research–with a Freedom of Information skills training workshop, generously co-sponsored by the B.C. Library Association.

Facilitated by Mike Larsen, Professor of Criminology at Kwantlen Polytechnic University and co-editor of Brokering Access: Power, Politics, and Freedom of Information Process in Canada (UBC Press, 2012), this workshop will provide attendees with a comprehensive and practical overview of B.C.’s Freedom of Information landscape.

By combining a legal review of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act with theoretical perspectives on our provincial access regime and hands-on request-writing exercises, this workshop will give you the tools you need to start tackling your own FOI research projects.

You’ll also be among the first to get a look at B.C. FIPA’s brand new educational resource, Access in the Academy. Developed with a generous grant from the Law Foundation of British Columbia, Access in the Academy is one of the first resources of its kind in Canada, providing a lucid, theoretically engaged, and highly practical look at how researchers, students, and others working in higher education can make the most of FOI and ATI mechanisms.

About the Book:

Compiled by Mike Larsen, Professor of Criminology at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in Surrey, B.C. and co-editor of Brokering Access: Power, Politics, and Freedom of Information Process in Canada (UBC Press, 2012), Access in the Academy is one of the first resources of its kind tailored specifically for Canadian researchers.

By combining legal reviews of British Columbian and Canadian ATI/FOI legislation with nuanced theoretical perspectives on “the politics and ethics of secrecy” and plenty of real-world tips for formulating successful access requests, Access in the Academy provides readers a lucid, theoretically engaged, and highly practical introduction to the world of ATI and FOI.

Although they offer a unique ‘backstage’ look at how, and more importantly why, information becomes (or doesn’t become) public knowledge, FOI and ATI mechanisms remain a rarity in the university classroom. Access in the Academy seeks to change that.

This brand new text explores ATI and FOI as prime arenas for data and information collection, where patterns of disclosure, delay and exemption tell compelling stories of policy formation, message control and secrecy, Together, they reveal what’s at stake when governments act.

FIPA is proud to be offering this excellent resource to the community by donation through our website at fipa.bc.ca. It will be available for download beginning July 25th.

This workshop is free, but will especially benefit those working in records management, libraries, archives, and research-driven academic programs. As well, donations are always very appreciated. B.C. FIPA and the BCLA are non-profit organizations that rely on the contributions of community members like you to continue providing public legal education sessions such as this. Your generosity is very much appreciated.