The extraordinary event was a coalition effort with David Cuillier, director of The Freedom of Information Project, Brechner Center for the Advancement of the First Amendment, at the University of Florida, at the helm. The conference met at the recently renovated Johns Hopkins University property on Pennsylvania Avenue—fittingly, the former physical home of the Newseum, which closed in 2019. As the National Freedom of Information Coalition has had annual conferences online since the pandemic, the in-person Sunshine Fest was a welcome opportunity to renew old acquaintances and make new ones.
Some persons with official capacities related to the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) participated in the conference, but only in their personal capacities. Certainly there was a sense that FOIA is not something a federal worker can afford to add to the résumé in the present climate. It was a strange feeling to gather with people talking about open government, yet speaking in hushed tones and looking over their shoulders. That has been my experience in many places in the world, but never before in Washington, D.C.
Some recently terminated federal officials attended too, such as Bobby Talebian, who, until recently, was the head of the Office of Information Policy in the Department of Justice. In my experience, Talebian was known for cutting through the bureaucracy. So it's hard to see how his departure facilitates efficiency.
The same might be said of the termination of the Open Government Federal Advisory Committee in the General Services Administration. It's hard to see how shutting down an advisory committee on transparency, which enlists the labor of private volunteers in public work, strikes a blow for efficiency rather than a blow to accountability. (See more at my March 7 post on the FOIA Federal Advisory Committee.)
Sunshine Fest was a success substantively as well as logistically. Speakers from all sectors participated in breakout sessions on artificial intelligence, FOIA and politics, vexatious requests, Trump and populism, privacy and transparency, and FOIA enforcement. Participants included requesters and custodians, industry and journalists, and persons working with FOI at state and federal levels and in legal systems in other countries.
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David Cuillier, at lectern, opens Sunshine Fest 2025. The opening plenary included Alasdair Roberts and Toby Mendel, from left. RJ Peltz-Steele CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 |
In particular, systems in Mexico and India, formerly regarded as exemplary models, have come under attack by populist regimes. The highly regarded independent oversight board in Mexico was terminated the very day of Sunshine Fest, and the Indian system was under "serious attack," Mendel said—though the Narendra Modi administration had to back off somewhat since the last election.
Mendel said that of the 56 U.N. member states that do not have RTI laws, 30 are "extremely weak" democracies, 17 are countries with fewer than one million inhabitants, and nine are "outliers."
Yet Mendel insisted that the glass is half full, or, he said, that is how he chooses to see it. Sri Lanka, he said, now has one of the strongest RTI frameworks in the world. RTI officials there have prevailed in 24 of 25 challenges to their enforcement authority. CLD is working with UNESCO to promote RTI in small island developing states, and Fiji has a proposal on the table in its legislature. Anecdotal evidence indicates "we're on an even keel," Mendel said, despite alarming developments in the United States.
Sunshine Fest announced the creation of a "Sunshine United Network" to marshal information about transparency going forward. Expect Sunshine Week and the Brechner FOI Project to publish further findings and takeaways from Sunshine Fest soon.
