28 September 2010
International Right to Know Day
The Human RightS Initiative (HRSI) at CEU and the CMCS organized an event to promote the individual right of access to information and open, transparent governance. Students were invited to add one sentence to a list of thoughts about why freedom of information is fundamentally important for democracy as well as our individual right.
September-October 2009
CMCS and HRSI join forces to raise awareness about freedom of information
The CMCS participated in an action of the Human RightS Initiative (HRSI) at the Central European University to raise awareness about freedom of information on 28 September, the International Right to Know Day.
CMCS Senior Research Fellow Peter Molnar and Visiting Professor Benjamin Kramer were among those manning tables with laptops and projectors and encouraging passing students and faculty members to electronically claim information about public matters they were interested in.
Volunteers of different nationalities also started at the event to translate a joint information claim related to a local environmental issue into several languages. At the initiative of Peter Molnar, who drafted the claim, they each inquired in their own language into the matter of three trees that were cut down in late July near the CEU on Hild Square.
11 October 2008
"Freedom not Fear - Stop the Surveillance Mania!" - CMCS joined International Action Day against surveillance and data retention
Every year on October 11, a global movement of campaigners and organisations advocating freedom from surveillance and data retention calls on everyone to join actions against excessive surveillance by governments and businesses.
In 2008, people in many countries took to the streets under the motto "Freedom not fear!". Peaceful and creative actions, from protest marches to parties, took place in many cities, including Budapest.
In Budapest, the CMCS team - which has been active in raising awareness on the importance of data protection as well as in advocating policy solutions against abusive data retention - joined a rally of local NGOs and activists in front of the 'White House' at Jászai Mari tér, which hosts offices of the Hungarian Members of Parliament.
The action featured thematic video projections on the wall of the "White House", representing the process of users' electronic data interception.