The Forum

Events across the nation emphasize how FOIA requests empower citizens and journalists to uncover truths that impact communities. 

Sunshine Week is a collaborative week of national recognition that takes place every year among individuals and groups representative of educators, journalists, government, citizens and community members, as well as the private sector. The purpose is to shine a light on the importance of the people’s access to public records, open government and freedom of information. Sunshine Week is non-partisan and held annually in mid-March coinciding with the birthday of James Madison (March 16, 1751). Madison was the fourth president of the United States and is celebrated as a pivotal figure in the drafting and ratification of the Constitution as well as for his advocacy in maintaining the public’s right to know about the functions and operations of government. 

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a federal law enacted July 5, 1967, which allows for individuals to request access to some federal agency records, barring certain exemptions. The goal of FOIA is to make the functions of U.S. Government agencies more transparent to its citizens, allowing Americans to more readily identify and address problems in government operations.   

This year Sunshine Week 2026 was held Sunday, March 15 through Saturday, March 21. A host of live and virtual events and educational activities were coordinated by the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications to help increase knowledge for the public, journalists, policymakers and all other stakeholders interested in the culture and practice of open government. Showcasing the importance of the citizen’s right to know, events included the Sunshinefest conference and other events engaging citizens from all walks of life to highlight the effective use of public records requests. 

As one of the many highlights of the week, the second annual in-person Sunshinefest Conference was held from Sunday, March 15 through Tuesday, March 17th in Washington D.C. Organized by University of Florida Brechner Freedom of Information Project, MuckRock, and the National Freedom Coalition, the goal of the conference seeks "to find solutions to pressing problems in freedom of information across all disciplinary and geographic boundaries – local, state, federal and global!" This year's conference featured plenary sessions and networking opportunities for professionals and citizens from across the national spectrum of government transparency and citizen’s right to access information.  

For some examples of reports that were only made possible by using Freedom of Information requests, consider the following: 

Water Contamination Crisis in Flint, Michigan: 

FOIA requests revealed extensive government documents including emails and internal communications which exposed the severity of the lead contamination in citizen’s water and how the government initially minimized the severity of the issue going back as far as 2014. 

ICE Detention Center Conditions: 

According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), lawsuits were filed against the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in 2019 due to lack of response to HRW FOIA requests. Subsequent DHS and ICE responsive documents received by HRW exposed poor conditions and human rights abuses in ICE detention centers, including inadequate medical care, overcrowding, and detainees being severely mistreated. 

Pandemic Response Failures: 

Dozens of FOIA requests filed with various government and international agencies from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the World Health Organization (WHO) have helped to obtain documents that have highlighted the federal government's failures in its initial responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Millions of Americans and citizens worldwide were affected by the United States government’s responses or lack thereof, which were detrimental to the health of citizens on a global scale. FOIA requests revealed a range of concerns that included, but were not limited to delays in testing, shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE), mismanagement of state and federal resources, and the extremely disproportionate numbers of disease transmissions and deaths of the country's most vulnerable populations of elderly, poor, black and brown people. 

It is ever more important that the public have access to information that keeps them informed on what their government is doing. These have shown to be especially turbulent times among legislators in government and continue to create uncertainties for average citizens because of decisions made by policy makers whom the people have put into office. 

Citizens need to be informed in order to make the best decisions for their families and communities. As always, the Forum recognizes the importance of keeping our readers aware and empowered. We will continue to shine a light on all things information.