Sunshine Week Open Government Letters Government is most accountable to its citizens when it is transparent. In fact, a participatory democracy relies on the oversight of an informed citizenry — people who have the right to know what their government leaders are doing, and why. Where candidates stand on open government issues is important not only in U.S. presidential elections — indeed, in elections at all levels of government — but also around the world in democracies long established and newly emerging. Sunshine Week, which is celebrated each March, began as an effort to both engage people in discussions about the importance of protecting open government, and to empower them with the tools to utilize this information for the betterment of their lives and their communities. A non-partisan initiative, Sunshine Week is led by the American Society of Newspaper Editors, but participants encompass groups well beyond the print, broadcast and online media to include students and teachers; federal, state and local officials; libraries; think tanks and non-profits; civic organizations; and sometimes even religious leaders. PublishaLetter.com and Sunshine Week have now partnered to give the public an opportunity to write letters about open government issues. Unlike the other submissions to PublishaLetter.com, this is not a typical letter to the editor, but instead more of an online forum dedicated to open government. Letters posted here will be linked under a special "Sunshine Week" icon for PublishaLetter.com readers, and there will be a link from the Sunshine Week Web site, www.sunshineweek.org. To write a letter to the editor of a publication, please go through the regular PublishaLetter.com submission process.   Before printing your letter, most publications will contact you to authenticate identity and discuss any editorial changes. Without your contact details they are likely to reject your letter outright. For a few publications, the e-mail, telephone and just the city (as opposed to full address) are enough. Check your publication’s policy. Most publications print your name and the city. On this site only your name will be shown. While we will forward your contact information to your selected publication, we will not share it with any other commercial enterprise. Other than one e-mail confirming your submission, this site normally will not contact you anymore. We respect your privacy. See our privacy policy. Contents of this box get published on this site along with your city/country and name (use real name, not screen name). Do not write any personal details here, that you don't want to appear on the site. As you articulate your thoughts, please remember, this is not a forum for slander, propaganda, commercial offerings, gratuitous self-promotion, mass mailings, personal correspondence, petty peeves or things of that nature. Also, this page is for Sunshine Week – Open Government letter submission only – for your letters to the editor, please go to the Home Page. Name (published)   Email (not published)   City/Country (published)   Subject   Letter (250 words max. Avoid ALL CAPITAL LETTERS) Dear Sunshine Week:       Enter the letters in the shaded box here (Capital Letters)   What is this ?     I agree to the terms of service