Kenya’s Strathmore University will this year host a gathering of over 200 participants in technology during the Open Data Development Camp 2012, which will also coincide with the first anniversary of the Kenya Open Data Initiative.
In a key note address titled “We are open for change – are you”?, Kenya’s Information and Communication Permanent Secretary Dr. Bitange Ndemo acknowledged that Kenya has surely made strides in freeing government data to the public.
“Despite the enthusiastic reception within that year, open data has not been without its setbacks and there are still huge challenges ahead like lack of the Freedom of Information Act which would make data release mandatory,”Dr. Ndemo added.
“We anticipate that this year’s Camp will convene the open data and transparency movement’s most creative thinkers whose conversations will help galvanize more ministries to open up their data. The open data portal was just an initial march to development through freeing useful government data; our next task will be to pursue solutions inspired by the same data for the public good,” said Linet Kwamboka, Kenya ICT Board Open Data coordinator.
The Camp is organized by the Kenya Open Data Pre-Incubator Program, a six-month experiment to help accelerate, make sense of data and galvanize engagement around critical public issues, with participants sharing experiences, networks and showing the power of Open Data.
Kenya was the first African country to avail government data freely to the public through a single online portal when President Mwai Kibaki launched the Kenya Open Data Initiative on July 8 2011.
The journey towards embracing open data has not been smooth all the way since several obstacles have hampered the accessing, utilizing and accelerating public understanding of data from proprietary web services to government ministries who see open data as a threat.
The lessons that will be drawn from the 2-day event will be shared across Africa in a bid to convince the rest of the nations to embrace the Open Data idea.
