News media should start planning now for Sunshine Week, which is from March 15-21

It's never too early to begin planning for Sunshine Week. This year's event is scheduled from March 15-21. Sunshine Week, which began in 2002, has evolved into a week for groups—especially news media—to promote the importance of open government and freedom of information.

The Sunshine Week website has already begun posting resources, such as logo, icons, a sample proclamation for state and local governments and a page for students and educators. Leading up to Sunshine Week the website will provide opinion columns, editorial cartoons and state-specific resources. "For inspiration on the kind of work that can be done utilizing public information, please review our FOI in Action page and peruse the Bright Ideas collections from past Sunshine Weeks. To see what was offered in earlier Toolkits, visit The Vault," says the website.