Global Legislative Openness Week (GLOW) returns! Sept. 7-15 #OpenParl15

We are pleased to announce that the second annual Global Legislative Openness Week (GLOW) will run from September 7-15, 2015. GLOW is being organized by members of the Open Government Partnership’s Legislative Openness Working Group, which is co-chaired by the Congress of Chile and the National Democratic Institute, in partnership with the broader open parliament community. We want you to be involved! Please visit OpenParlWeek.org for more information.

GLOW is a worldwide campaign to advance legislative openness commitments and share best practices among parliaments and civil society organizations around the world. It features activities organized by the Working Group as well as the global parliamentary openness community, including in-person meetings, online activities, and advocacy efforts. In 2014, the campaign connected 45 activities organized by parliaments and civil society organizations in more than 30 countries. This year’s GLOW campaign will kick off on September 7 in conjunction with the AbreLatam and ConDatos conferences in Santiago, Chile. The week will culminate at a Working Group meeting hosted by the Parliament of Georgia on September 14-15 focusing on the theme of “Committing to Openness: Parliamentary Action Plans, Standards, and Data."

The organizers encourage civil society organizations and legislatures to organize their own parliamentary openness activities, whether an “Open Parliament Day,” a legislative hackathon, a social media campaign or other creative activity. Parliaments and civil society organizations are also invited to discuss and comment on the draft Common Ethical Principles for Members of Parliament. Visit OpenParlWeek.org for ideas, resources and complete updates, and follow the action at #OpenParl15.

Please join us! With your participation and support, GLOW 2015 will be another strong, global event to promote action around legislative openness. We are eager to include your organization in GLOW. It is a great opportunity to co-brand your local events or projects and gain broader visibility for your work. If you are already planning a legislative openness event or project that will be active in September, or if the idea of a global campaign inspires you to organize something new, please email info@OpenParlWeek.org and let us know what you’re planning. Of course, your suggestions and ideas for the campaign are more than welcome.

For GLOW information and regular updates, visit OpenParlWeek.org. We look forward to working with you!