Access-to-information day focuses on integrity in the digital age

The 2026 theme for the September 28 International Day for Universal Access to Information is 'Upholding Information Integrity in the Digital Age: The role of access to information in addressing information disorder.' The United Nations says access alone is insufficient in an overloaded information environment; proactive disclosure, credible data, media and information literacy and digital tools must work together to supply timely, reliable information. A global conference and the seventeenth International Conference of Information Commissioners run today through September 30 in Sierra Leone, hosted by UNESCO and the government. This confirms an agenda and meeting, not improved transparency. Follow-through should be measured through disclosure deadlines, machine-readable data, correction records, minority-language and disability access, and independent oversight.