In an ideal world of transparent government in which the powers that be were only too willing to share and explain the facts and figures behind their decisions, we wouldn't need a Freedom of Information Act.
However, as Edinburgh citizens have learned to their cost in recent years, this is far from being an ideal world.
Under the Act's terms, everyone has a legal right to see information from Scottish public authorities.
You don't have to say who you are or why you want the information. And if the public authority refuses to give it to you, they must tell you why (the Information Commissioner may then overrule them).
So far so good. But Freedom of Information practicalities can sometimes seem almost as daunting as the institutional brick walls they were intended to break through, which is why Broughton-based journalist Peter Geoghegan has helped set up a discussion of the subject for next week.
Speakers will include leading environmental journalist Rob Edwards and Irish blogger and journalist Gavin Sheridan, with more to be announced. They'll explain how FOI works at home and abroad and how you can make it work for you.
The event will take place on Wednesday 11 July at the Centre for Carbon Innovation, 15 South College Street. Talks begin at 6.15pm, followed by a relaxed Q+A session (event should last about an hour-and-a-half max.) with the opportunity to continue even more relaxedly at a pub and Mother India Café afterwards
Tickets are free but there's a suggested £5 donation at the door.
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