Chairman and Information Commissioner of the Right to Access Information Commission (RAIC), Dr Ibrahim Seaga Shaw, has reiterated RAIC’s ongoing preparations to host simultaneously the two biggest right-to-information global conferences on 28th, 29th and 30th September 2026 at the Bintumani Conference Center in Freetown: the International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI) and the International Conference of Information Commissioners (ICIC).
Dr Shaw was speaking at the first-ever Ministry of Information and Civic Education press briefing in Bonthe District, southern Sierra Leone, on Tuesday 3rd February 2026.
“It is rare for one country to host both conferences at the same period. This is the first time Sierra Leone is hosting both global conferences. It is important to also note that this is the first time a West African nation is hosting the ICIC Conference and the second time for an African nation after South Africa which hosted it in 2019,” Dr Shaw explained.
The RAIC boss noted that the conferences are expected to attract hundreds of people globally to Freetown, something he said would be an opportunity to not only discuss right to information but also showcase the country to people from other parts of the world.
“Discussions will be on a range of topics. There will be panels to identify challenges and proffer workable solutions to advance right to information at national, regional and global levels. The moments will also feature displays of the culture and beauty of Sierra Leone and other national realities that may be of great intervention or investment interest to those that would be joining us from other countries,” he said.
Dr Ibrahim Seaga Shaw seized the opportunity to encourage public and private institutions to support the smooth and successful hosting of the joint conference as such an event has the potential to heighten the country’s international profile and attract opportunities.
He also highlighted the sustained impressive performance of Sierra Leone on access to information ratings regionally and globally, citing the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) scorecard, UNESCO survey, among others. He informed the gathering of Sierra Leone’s exceptional performance in the most recent right-to-information implementation rating by the Center for Law and Democracy in Canada, a leading global organization that rates the strength and implementation of national right-to-information laws worldwide.
The country’s Information Commissioner also encouraged public authorities or institutions to comply with their obligations under the Right to Access Information (RAI) Act of 2013 which obliges them to do both proactive and reactive information disclosures. Proactive disclose is when an institution puts out information without receiving a request for such. Reactive disclosure is when an institution provides information or advances reason(s) for not providing information when requested by someone or another institution.
“After several reasonable requests from public authorities, we have extended the deadline to Monday 16th February 2026 for public authorities to submit their Annual Compliance Report (ACR) and Proactive Disclosure of Information (PDI) scheme for us to have true reflection of the realities on proactive and reactive disclosure of information. We are grateful that the Office of the President has made access to information a key performance indicator for all public institutions. However, public institutions must understand that we can only submit data to State House on access to information for only public institutions that comply,” Dr Shaw warned.
For media enquiries, contact: Amara Thoronka
Public Information and Communications Officer, RAIC – National Secretariat
Mobile:+23288283632/+23278231949, Email: thoronkaa2021@gmail.com / amara.thoronka@raic.gov.sl
