Government Secrecy in the Era of Openness: An ACARM Symposium
19th June 2015
Room G22/26, Senate House, University of London
Malet Street, London, UK
In 2011, the Open Government Partnership (OGP) was established as a vehicle to
support and promote transparent and accountable government internationally. The
movement towards government openness has spurred new approaches to promoting
government transparency and called into question the effectiveness of existing
approaches, such as Freedom of Information. However, the persistence of the use of
pre-existing secrecy and security measures has not been examined in this context.
Despite the high profile of the openness movement, very little attention has been
given to the laws, policies and practices that continue to be used to restrict access to
information.
The Association of Commonwealth Archivists and Records Managers (ACARM),
with the generous support of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, will hold a one
day symposium to consider the tension between secrecy and openness in government
information management. The symposium will include keynotes by Maurice Frankel
of the Campaign for Freedom of Information and David Banisar of Article 19, plus
papers from leading experts in government information management and use.
Preliminary Programme
9:30
Registrations
10:00 Welcome
James Lowry, Convenor
Opening Remarks
Professor Philip Murphy, Director of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies
10:10 Session 1
Chair: James Lowry, International Records Management Trust
 Keynote, Maurice Frankel, OBE, Director, Campaign for Freedom of Information
 Keynote, David Banisar, Senior Legal Counsel, Article 19: Global Campaign for
Free Expression
 The Development of Open Government in the UK, Kelvin Smith, ACARM
11:30 – 11:50 Tea
11:50 Session 2
Chair: Kelvin Smith, Honorary Secretary, ACARM
 The Role of the Records Manager in Open Government, Professor Elizabeth
Shepherd and Dr Andrew Flinn, Department of Information Studies, UCL
 The Transition to the 20 Year Rule, Fiona Kearney, The National Archives (UK)
 Improving Access to Government Archives with Minimal Secrecy: Transforming
the Citizen’s User Experience in the NAA, Tonia Vincent, National Archives of
Australia
13:10 – 14:00 Lunch (provided)
14:00 Session 3
Chair: Professor Philip Murphy, Director of the Institute of Commonwealth
Studies
 Small World: Orwellianism, Openess and Online-ness, Aylair Livingstone and
Emerson O. St. G. Bryan
 Absolute Exemption: The Secret Service and Immunity from Public Interest, Helen
Lindsay
 What Makes Transparency Policies Work? Dr Ben Worthy, Birkbeck College
15:20 – 15:30 Tea
15:30 Panel Discussion
Chair: Professor Elizabeth Shepherd
Discussants: David Banisar, Dr Andrew Flinn, Maurice Frankel, Dr Ben
Worthy
16:30 Close
Registrations
Registration Fees: £20 / £15 students / free for ACARM members (membership
subscription rates / how to join)
Payments can be made by bank transfer.
Account Number: 36272418
Sort Code: 60-80-07
BIC: NWBKGB2L
Or by cheque, to:
Association of Commonwealth Archivists and Records Managers
Fairway
Oxborough
Norfolk
PE33 9PS
United Kingdom
Places are limited.