Sunshine Week occurs each year in mid-March, coinciding with James Madison’s birthday and the National Freedom of Information Day on March 16, with the purpose of educating the public about the importance of open government and the dangers of excessive and unnecessary secrecy. Sunshine Sunday began in Florida in 2002, led by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. National Sunshine Week was launched in 2005 by the American Society of Newspaper Editors with the support of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. In 2019, the American Society of News Editors merged with the Associated Press Media Editors to become the News Leaders Association.

As of Dec. 8, 2023, Sunshine Week is coordinated by the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications. Participants include news media, civic groups, libraries, nonprofit organizations, schools and all others interested in the public’s right to know.

Sunshine Week seeks to enlighten and empower people to actively participate in their government at all levels, and to encourage them to seek access to information that improves their lives and communities. Sunshine Week also provides an opportunity for all levels of government to reexamine their role in providing open, accessible, and transparent processes and practical implementations to their relevant freedom of information laws; government functions best when it operates in the open.