Communication, citizenship and transparency: Access to public information as a tool for citizens' participation in administrative management

The present paper is intended to establish citizens’ knowledge about topics related to transparency in public information. It approaches the existing link among the concepts of transparency, citizen participation and access to information as fundamental rights guaranteed by the Ecuadorian state and by various international organizations. The role of communication in processes of citizens’ participation and transparency, and the relationship between such processes and the reduction of corruption, considering the fact that to more transparency, less corruption. The study focuses on the significance of citizens aware of their role in the construction of a transparent culture, through access to wide, functional, truthful, valid and efficient information; and, at the same time, empowered to effectively claim their rights to participate, as a more functional mechanism to construct transparent public policies.