VCOG’s annual conference returns to Richmond, Capitol
Two-day event features newsworthy topics on access and transparency in government
The Virginia Coalition for Open Government will present its 11th conference on access Oct. 21-22 in Richmond.
Each year VCOG brings together experts from the access community, the press, the government and citizen activists to discuss the issues of the day affecting the public’s right to know what their government is doing.
The conference panels will be preceded by a board dinner Oct. 21, across the street from the Capitol at the Commonwealth Park Suites Hotel. After dinner, the Coalition will recognize the recipients of the 2010 FOI awards for citizens, government and media. An informal conversation about access to criminal investigative records will follow.
Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Daniel Gilbert, formerly of the Bristol Herald Courier, will be the lunchtime speaker on the 22nd to talk about how he used Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act and other public records to uncover a massive breakdown in the payment of natural gas royalties to citizens of Southwest Virginia.
Additional panel topics to be covered that day include access to information on college campuses, lobbying the legislature and government technology in the age of “smart phones.”
As always, there will also be a practical discussion for reporters, citizens and activists on tips and strategies for using Virginia’s FOIA.