Publish What You Pay celebrates its 10th Anniversary

The global civil society coalition that demanded the creation of the EITI and has done so much to sustain, give it energy and meaning in implementing countries celebrates its 10^th anniversary at a major conference in Amsterdam this week. Bringing together 250 civil society activists from almost 60 countries, the Publish What You Pay (PWYP) event will celebrate the coalition’s achievements and discuss its challenges ahead – including support the EITI internationally and promotion of mandatory disclosure requirements.

Clare Short, the EITI Chair, passed on the following message to PWYP:

“I congratulate everyone that has been involved in Publish What You Pay. You have put the spotlight on one of the greatest development challenges. You have also contributed to change, through the EITI as well as your other efforts. But there is a long way to go before natural resource riches bring benefits and development to all, especially the poor."

"A lot rests on PWYP’s shoulders. We must all work harder to make sure that it really is a network linking together citizens in countries with governance problems so that the example and solidarity of the worldwide movement helps all to move forward. In the EITI, we are working hard on building on what has been achieved so far to deliver better on the principles on which EITI is based. We hope that PWYP will work with us to strengthen the effectiveness of EITI reporting shaped to the needs of individual countries and to ensure that increased transparency leads to better accountability, country by country," Ms Short said.

Read Jonas Moberg’s blog on the achievements and challenges of the coalition

Photo from the previous PWYP conference in Montreal, November 2009