[okfn-discuss] Stop Secret Contracts Campaign - What it is and how you can help

Fri May 30 13:39:03 UTC 2014

At the moment, public awareness of the damage and issues that result from
secret contracting is lacking even though the negative impacts of the
practice are plainly visible all over the world. From an unfinished
autoroute, to redundant procurement, to outlandish prices to access
scholarly publishing, bloated defense contracts and so forth — when the
government signs cheques on behalf of the people, people have the right to
know the exact terms and conditions of these projects.

As open contracting is rarely a top priority for civil society (in
comparison to open spending/budgeting) it is important to raise awareness
of the issue and demonstrate to governments that citizens want increased
transparency in the contracting process.

If you agree, please show your support by signing on to the campaign:
www.stopsecretcontracts.org

The ultimate goal of the Stop Secret Contracts campaign is to maximize the
number of countries with open contracting commitments in their Open
Government Partnership Action Plans. This summer, we will mobilize the
campaign to take local actions and advocate directly for those commitments.
Stay tuned!

To achieve our aims, we want to contextualise the issue of secret
contracts through a grassroots campaign that helps citizens engage with the
issue in an accessible and understandable way. To do this, we are sharing
and amplifying real stories of public contracts gone wrong, public
contracts that serve special interests rather than the public interest by
design.

As we create a bridge between ordinary citizens, civil organisations and
people involved in the open contracting arena, we’re asking you to add your
voice to the chorus of people who believe in transparency and think all
government contracts should be open and publicly accessible.

The most important thing you can do today to show your support is to sign
the petition here:

   -

   www.stopsecretcontracts.org

After you’ve signed, please help spread the word:

   -

   Like our Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/stopsecretcontracts and invite
   your facebook friends /contacts to the page.
   -

   Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/secretcontracts Please retweet
   @secretcontracts and message us if you know of a contracting issue where
   you live.
   -

   Forward this email to five friends right now.

Finally, if you know people or organisations in your network who may be
specifically interested in this campaign, please put them in touch at
contact at stopsecretcontracts.org

Thank you for your support. Together we can make open contracting the new
norm.

Onward!

Neal Bastek
Digital Engagement Director | skype: nealbastek | @nbastek
<https://twitter.com/nbastek>
The Open Knowledge Foundation  <http://okfn.org>
*Empowering through Open Knowledge*
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