Motivation
Although it is not just our project, our team has been actively involved and is happy to support this tool through which, together with a group of enthusiasts, we have launched a portal through which requests for access to information of public interest are made much easier. You can ask public institutions for anything you are interested in, from the budget allocated for pansies to where the legal bike lanes in your city are located.
Goal
We used the 10th World Anniversary of the Right to Know, to launch this tool of dialogue and collaboration between citizens and institutions, with the hope that Romanians will be better informed, that institutions will be more transparent, that, together, we will all be more responsible and open.
Calendar and supporters
The story began in April-May 2012, first by email, then on a terrace; we consulted with friends, we met new people, we decided we wanted to work together! Initially, we built from scratch, until September 2012; six months later, we learned and tested Alaveteli.org, we were inspired by TuDerechoASaber.es and relaunched NuVăSupăraţi.info in July 2013. The project consists of several internet and science enthusiasts, being supported also by organizations that have supported this volunteer project: ActiveWatch, Ceata Foundation, Association for Technology and Internet, EPAS Association and Rise Project.
Official statistics are not very encouraging and do not give us much reason to celebrate, because Romanians do not use these legal instruments, do not hold them accountable to public institutions: neither about how they spend public money, nor about what they decide, when I decide, how I decide. We could even say that the institutions have been a bit lazy in terms of transparency, even if the Ministry for Public Consultation and Civic Dialogue pushed things forward in 2016.
For these reasons, since September 2012, we have taken the initiative to make available to the general public a new tool for interaction with public institutions. We encourage you to ask yourself the question "what would I like to know?", To think about questions for the authorities, something that will be useful and for the community in which you live, for the economic branch in which you work, for the professional group in which you are active in, something that has to do with public affairs rather than matters of personal interest.
And then to formulate the request for access to information to a public institution: "Don't be upset, I would like to know…" NuVăSupăraţi.info provides you with the tool through which you can request information, in electronic format, without the need to also read the applicable laws, without looking for the contact details of the institution, much more convenient!
And we only ask you to send us the answers you receive from the authorities, so that together we can enjoy freedom of expression. More precisely, let us enjoy knowingly, on the basis of correct information, acquired directly from the source, by exercising the right to know, to have access to information regarding public affairs. We hope to succeed together, to give a helping hand to public institutions, to make available official, verified information.
We are in the era of technology, and search engines on the Internet have given us the impression that information is available just a click away. This is true only if the information is stored in electronic documents available on the Internet. But not all public institutions in Romania have adapted their information and document management systems; many institutions still have old, yellowed paper registers with thick cardboard covers in which it is difficult to look for specific information.
For this reason, in line with global and Europeandevelopments, we provide you with a tool to make everything easier! For citizens and institutions alike! When we publish an answer in electronic format, it will be accessible to all interested parties, without the need for additional requests from citizens or costly efforts from the institution.*