Watchdog (definition from http://www.watchdog.org.pl):

The term watchdog activities describes initiatives of civic organisations and media, involving the observation of institutions and public figures, which leads to increasing transparency as well as law and order in the public life. The term also applies to the private sector as far as it concerns consumer rights. The object of interest of this portal is, however, the activity of watchdog organisations and citizen watchers, hence in the following part we will not reflect upon the controlling role of media and the watchdog activity in the private sector.

'Watchdog' activities play a very significant role in the program of most non-governmental organizations working to protect human rights, such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights. There's a growing number of initiatives conducting such activities in the context of art. Indeks 73 Initiative is also going to monitor cases of restraining freedom of creation, freedom od speech and free access to culture, and take actions similar to the ones in the human rights sector.

If you've heard about any cases of restraining constitutional freedom of creation and use of cultural goods, send us information. We'll write about such cases in our News, and with time and project development we'll also offer legal advice or other forms of support for people affected by infringement of Article 73 of Polish Constitution.