OIP Director Provides Keynote Address at FOIA 50th Anniversary Celebration

Organizations around the country continue to celebrate the upcoming 50th anniversary of the FOIA. This week, Director Melanie Ann Pustay will provide a keynote address on Friday, June 3rd at the Columbia Journalism School’s “FOIA @ 50” celebration, and we invite you to watch her remarks through a live stream made available by the University.

Signed into law on July 4, 1966 by President Johnson, the FOIA continues to be “the most prominent expression of a profound national commitment to ensuring an open Government.” The Columbia Journalism School’s “FOIA @ 50” celebration is a multi-day event with presentations and panels focused on the statute’s first fifty years, observations from representatives of the public and civil society, and trends for the future.

Director Pustay will provide an address at 1pm on Friday the 3rd focused on the FOIA’s first fifty years, including a viewing of the Department of Justice’s 50th anniversary video released during Sunshine Week 2016, and the steps OIP has taken during this administration to:

• Improve the engagement between requesters and agencies,
• Improve internal agency processes, and
• Promote greater agency accountability.

You can watch this address live at bitly.com/cjslive.

For more information, including the full program and biographies of noted speakers, please visit the Columbia Journalism School’s site for this event. We’d like to thank the event organizers for inviting Director Pustay to participate in this special celebration.