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Avatar of Anders Pedersen

by Anders Pedersen

Data Expedition: Mapping the garment factories

May 20, 2013 in Events, School of Data

Women sewing at long tables next to tall windows in a garment factory.

The horrific factory collapse at Rana Plaza in Dhaka has brought the business practices of global garment brands, as well their thousands of suppliers, into the spotlight.

At School of Data we noted that corrupt and missing data were part of the story. Data on building permits in Bangladesh is largely unavailable due to lack of state inspections. However, after years of pressure on global apparel brands from labor activists, the publishing of garment factory supplier lists is becoming increasingly standardized. We’re asking you to join us in mapping the data on garment factories.

Data Expedition: Mapping the garment factories 

When: Saturday May 25 – 12:00 BST to May 26 18:00 BST - link to your timezone

We’ll be looking for projects such as:

  • Mapping garment factories locally and globally

  • Exploring the global supply chain of garment export and imports

  • Mapping the ownership of local factories and global brands with open company data

  • Finding stories and patterns in the connections between global brands and local garment factories

Sign up here for the Data Expedition!

Please note that limited space is available. For more information about the Data Expedition format, we encourage you to read this article.

Before the Data Expedition – Help us build an open garment factory supply list

Before heading out on this important expedition, we’ll need to gather as much data as possible on garment factories. Labor activists and campaigners typically articulate the data in terms of ”supplier lists.” Some brands, such as Nike, provide a list of all factories in their supplier network via Excel and JSON downloads; while others, such as Levi-Strauss, only offer lists in PDF format. In order to prepare a solid dataset for the Data Expedition, we’re asking you to help locate, clean, and merge the supplier lists from across garment brands into one comprehensive Open Garment Factory List.

Begin today by adding to the Open Garment Factory List and join us for a GoogleHangout on Thursday, 23 May at 19:00 CET, where we’ll be engaging in joint data collection.

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Avatar of Zara Rahman

by Zara Rahman

re:publica roundup

May 16, 2013 in Events

Last week, the Open Knowledge community was out in force at Berlin’s re:publica conference, which brought together over 6,000 bloggers, internet activists, innovators and makers to meet in person, for three days. Here, we’ve collected a few of our personal highlights – let us know what yours were in the comments below!

republica

The event was peppered with presentations from members of the Open Knowledge Foundation community. First, OKF Germany’s Stefan Wehmeyer and Julia Kloiber talked on “What does Open Data have to do with me?” (presentation in German). Their beautifully designed presentation looked at how open data could positively impact the everyday lives of citizens, such as through open publication of school inspection results, as happens in the UK, or police forces making data about cycling accidents available, enabling the creation of maps such as this one for Chicago.

The OKF’s OpenGLAM team, Joris Pekel and Daniel Dietrich, gave a talk about the curation of the digital cultural commons., largely inspired by the recent post on OpenGLAM about Small Data in GLAMs. They addressed the issue of effective overload of data – that the vast amount of data available renders it almost incomprehensible. Dealing with this effectively requires better infrastructure, access and tools.

Other OKFn-ers were spotted on the panel on Opening Public Transport in Berlin (Julia Kloiber again – the only woman on an all male panel!), and at the workshop News You Can’t Print (Friedrich Lindenberg), exploring how data informs how we tell news stories.

Over the entire three days, we came across so many new and exciting projects, many of whose objectives go hand-in-hand with the Open Knowledge Foundation’s. Check out Eugenio Tisselli’s Sauti Ya Wakulima project based in Tanzania, for example, which provides a simple platform for farmers from different regions to share insights and advice on how best to grow particular crops. This type of knowledge sharing, open to all and running on an open source platform, is a great example of how the open movement can improve the lives of people across the globe, in many different contexts and positions.

Other highlights included:

  • Yoani Sanchez, Cuba’s first independent blogger, talking about the challenges of working in a ‘closed’ environment, both in terms of the overall media environment and in terms of not being able to have access to new hardware such as computer parts or USB sticks. We hope her plea for future visitors to Cuba to take with them any pieces of old hardware and give them to Cuban citizens hit home with other listeners!

  • Laurie Penny’s talk on cybersexism highlighted the gender imbalance within the tech world, an issue which will be explored in forthcoming blogs here at the Open Knowledge Foundation.

  • A presentation from Tactical Technology Collective’s Stephanie Hankey and Marek Tuszynski on “Investigation 2.0” highlighted the results of collaboration across different spheres and of individuals taking on the role of institutions, thanks to new reams of data being made available for all to use.

  • GIZ’s Global Innovation Lounge gave us the chance to mix with representatives from every one of the AfriLabs incubation hubs network, which was a wonderful opportunity to hear how technology and innovation is being fostered in various African countries. Hacker spaces and technology hubs are really taking off, and we hope to see the Open Knowledge community expand within the region too via our Local Groups and Ambassadors scheme.

The complete list of fascinating projects and people we came across is too long to include here, but the fact that there are so many projects working within the open movement is incredibly inspiring to us at the Open Knowledge Foundation. We look forward to collaborating with many of you – do get in touch, tell us about what you’re doing, and let us know how our global OKF Network could help. Or if you’d like to have a look for yourselves what we’re up to – check out our thematic Working Groups or geographically based Local Groups mailing lists, introduce yourselves and get involved in the Open Knowledge Foundation community!

Thanks to Joris Pekel for contributing to this post.

If you’d like to carry on the conversations started at re:publica, join us at OKCon this September!

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Avatar of Beatrice Martini

by Beatrice Martini

Volunteer at OKCon 2013!

May 14, 2013 in Events, Join us, OKCon

PB090716

  • What. Volunteering at OKCon 2013
  • When & where. 16th-18th September 2013, Geneva, Switzerland.
  • How. Find the call and the submission form here
  • Deadline. The deadline to submit your application is May 26th, 23:59:59 GMT.

Are you a team player passionate about the power of open knowledge?

Are you ready to make OKCon 2013 a unique experience?

Do you have good English speaking skills and are you outgoing, hard-working and 100% reliable?

We want to hear from you!

We are looking for highly motivated volunteers willing to join us to make OKCon 2013 a fantastic and invaluable experience.

We expect our volunteers to deliver professional work during 2-3 days (16th-18th September, 2013). In return, we offer  an enlightening work environment, and the opportunity to connect with incredibly inspiring and like-minded people. Needless to say that we plan your work around your choice of talks.

Given the qualification for the profiles needed, those already in the Open Knowledge Foundation Task Force and other active members of the OKF community will be looked upon favourably.

If you are interested and available from 16th to 18th September 2013, please apply on the OKCon Call for Volunteers webpage. Deadline for the applications is Sunday, 26th May at 23:59:59 GMT. We look forward to receiving your application!

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Avatar of Beatrice Martini

by Beatrice Martini

OKCon 2013 Call for Proposals – out now!

May 7, 2013 in Events, Featured, Join us, OKCon, Talks

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  • Event. OKCon 2013 – 17th-18th September 2013, Geneva, Switzerland.
  • Call for Proposals. Find the call, FAQs and the submission form on the OKCon 2013 Call for Proposal webpage.
  • Deadline. The deadline to submit your proposals is May 24th, 23:59:59 GMT. Results will be published by 17th June, 23:59:59 GMT.
  • Tickets. Early Bird tickets are on sale until 23rd June!

 

Following the announcement of the dates for this year’s Open Knowledge Conference (OKCon), we have been asked by many people from our community how they can get involved. We are now glad and excited to give you the news: the Call for Proposals is launched today!

OKCon 2013 will be an intense 2-day event (taking place on 17th-18th September in Geneva, Switzerland). Its programme will be curated in part directly by the organisers, nominating Invited Speakers, and partly together with you – our community – thanks to your proposals.

We have identified six specific topics to discuss and explore on this year’s theme of Open Data – Broad, Deep, Connected which we hope will inspire and excite you as much as it does us:

  • Open Data, Government and Governance
  • Open Development and Sustainability
  • Open Science and Research
  • Open Culture
  • Technology, Tools and Business
  • Evidence and Stories

We have compiled a how-to guide, with FAQs and the submission form – please find them all on the OKCon 2013 Call for Proposal webpage. We are looking forward to your ideas!

The Call for Proposals starts today (7th May) and ends on 24th May, at 23:59:59 GMT. Read all about OKCon’s Call for Proposals and more on the conference website.

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Avatar of Christian Villum

by Christian Villum

Open data highlights from European Data Forum 2013 in Dublin

April 16, 2013 in Events, Featured, LOD2, Open Data

 

Europe’s data league convened in Dublin last week – Open Data increasingly taking the stage

Over 500 data professionals gathered last week at European Data Forum conference in Dublin. This is the annual meeting place for industry, research, policy makers, and community initiatives to discuss the challenges and opportunities of Big Data in Europe. One of the main sentiments throughout the event was a profound interest in openly licensed data and developments in the field of linked data.

The Open Knowledge Foundation was represented by Sander van der Waal and myself, and we took part with reference to the LOD2 project (an EU-funded project on Linked Open Data) and the Apps for Europe project (supporting apps competitions around Europe) – as well as to stimulate open data discussions in general. That seemed to have an increasingly fertile ground, as one of the main sentiments throughout the conference was a profound general interest not only in linking data, but also making them legally and technically open.

Open Data on the political agenda

Irish Minister for Justice, Equality and Defense Alan Shatter was among the first in the official program – which was initiated with a brief video message from EU Vice President Neelie Kroes – to address the need to embrace linked data, rightly calling it the new digital frontier. He seemingly hinted at the need for open technical standards and open licensing to be the norm, by emphasizing the need to change EU data protection regulation to enable maximum gain from the massive opportunities put before us in linking the vast datasets (commonly referred to as Big Data). This notion was supported by Robert Viola, Deputy Director General at European Commission (from Directorate General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology) in his subsequent presentation highlighting among other how open data is the optimal way to improve public health systems.

Representatives from the European Commission’s DG Connect (Directorate General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology), Malte Beyer-Katzenberger and Francesco Barbato, continued this thought by presenting a concept called the EU Data Value Chain, which is a part of DG Connect’s effort to ensure that digital technologies can help deliver the growth which the EU needs. The initiative is working on creating a European data ecosystem in accordance with EU’s Open Data Policy which covers ao. open government data, public sector information (PSI) and Open Access. The reason for this is the need to pursue untapped business opportunities, ensure better governance and citizen empowerment (through transparency), and the need to address societal changes and accelerate scientific progress. In that regard the European Commission has been pushing members to open up data since the launch of the PSI directive in 2003.

Malte Beyer-Katzenberger also presented the EU Open Data Portal later in the conference program, which we at Open Knowledge Foundation have helped develop. The portal is part of the European open data infrastructure that aggregates metadata from sources across the EU and acts as a single access point which helps to identify what data exists without knowing who is holding them; at the same time, Beyer-Katzenberger noted, it also acts as a driver for re-use policies inside the organization.

Open data as an innovation strategy for industry

The first day of the event also saw the announcement of the winner of the European Data Innovator Award, which was given to Michael Gorriz, CIO of car manufacturer Daimler, for his linked knowledge systems in Mercedes cars. Gorriz explained how data is connecting customers and enterprises more directly – calling it an emerging new economy of crowdsourcing and interaction – and highlighted the enormous business potential of linked open data. Specifically, he stressed the importance getting data and information out of the technical and legal “silos” (referring to proprietary data) in order to create value. This obviously requires not only overcoming the technical challenge, but also the cultural one of adapting to making business and driving innovation through linked and open data. In this argument Gorriz referred specifically to Sir Tim Berners-Lee’s principles for linked open data and the need to leverage standards such as RDF and Sparql instead of developing proprietary technologies. As a key point he also urged other business leaders to step into the new economies by building trust and reducing the fear of data transparency – and to dare using linked open data to drive the cultural change of their enterprise.

In the field of energy, Florian Bauer from REEEP (The Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership) gave a presentation advocating open data as a way of helping the uptake of clean sustainable energy in society in general. Based on experience from the more than 180 clean energy projects in 58 countries REEEP has supported, Bauer pointed out that the power of open data lies in energy companies avoiding replication of work by having joint access to data, and therefore being able to concentrate resources on their own expertise and keeping maintenance to a minimum. Additionally, open data allows for lowering CO2 emission by using the data that is already there. However, Bauer explained that this road has only just begun. Connecting data portals through open standards and with interoperability is needed, and the energy sector needs to publish more data – in raw, machine readable formats and under licenses that allow re-use.

Another major industry representative, Chief Engineer of IT at Statoil, Knut Sebastian Tungland (responsible for technology strategies and professional practices), spoke on the second day of the conference and started out by commenting on the main point that he felt he would take from the conference: namely that they need to act on open data in general, which is not something that he feels they’ve contributed to a lot to so far. In the same breath he expressed the difficulty in doing so and sent out an invitation to help them leverage these ideas – to help them figure out how to share their data.

Open Knowledge Foundation projects enabling innovation

The European Data Forum also featured a presentation by Open Knowledge Foundation (by Sander van der Waal and me) about the publicdata.eu project that has been developed as part of the LOD2-project (focusing on Linked Open Data). The publicdata.eu portal, which runs on the CKAN open source data management system, provides access to open, freely reusable datasets from local, regional and national public bodies across Europe.

The publicdata.eu portal has recently been updated with a new set of social features and visualization capabilities, inviting citizens to examine, discuss and share the datasets; thereby making it easier to find relevant data to use for science, journalism and research in general – as well as for business and app development purposes.

It was highly motivating to see open data being more and more widely acknowledged as a driver of innovation and growth. The Open Knowledge Foundation has been pushing for more openly licensed data for years, and we look forward to working with anyone to further stimulate innovation and wider uptake of openly licensed data and content.

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Avatar of Rufus Pollock

by Rufus Pollock

Announcing the Open Knowledge Conference 2013: Open Data – Broad, Deep, Connected

March 21, 2013 in Events, Featured, News, OKCon, OKF, OKFest, Our Work

The Open Knowledge Foundation is pleased to announce that the 2013 Open Knowledge Conference (OKCon) will take place in Geneva, Switzerland on 17th -18th September. The theme of this year’s edition will be Open Data – Broad, Deep, Connected.

The world’s leading open data and open knowledge event, OKCon is the latest in an annual series run since 2005. Last year’s installment in Helsinki had more than 1000 participants from over 50 countries and was the largest event of its kind to date. Previous speakers have included inventor of the World Wide Web Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Hans Rosling of Gapminder, Brewster Kahle of the Internet Archive, and Ellen Miller of the Sunlight Foundation.

Located in Geneva, a major site for the United Nations and many other international institutions, this year’s event will focus on coordinating and strengthening public policy around the world to support a truly global and interconnected ecosystem of open data.

Open Data – Broad, Deep, Connected

In the last few years we’ve seen government open data initiatives grow from a handful to hundreds, and we’ve seen open data become important in areas such as research, culture and international development. This event will explore how open data is not only expanding geographically but also touching new sectors and new areas. How should governments and international institutions such as the UN react to these changes? How should business take advantage of new opportunities and contribute to the open data economy? How do citizens and civil society organizations turn data into accountability and into change?

This year’s OKCon will focus on the following questions:

  • How do we broaden open data – not only geographically across countries and regions, but also across domains and institutions? For example, whilst open data is now firmly on the agenda for government, in business its potential is only just starting to be explored. Similarly, though “open” is prominent in some areas of research, such as genomics, in others it is still barely known.

  • How do we deepen open data – ensuring a commitment not only for today but for the long term, and ensuring that open data is fully embedded into processes and policies? For example, though many governments have now signed up to the Open Government Partnership and announced open government data initiatives, in many cases the amount of data actually released remains limited.

  • How do we ensure the open data ecosystem is connected? Much of the value of open data will be lost if open data ends up locked into isolated silos – whether these are legal, technical or social. In today’s globalized world it makes no sense if open data ‘stops at the border’: we need data that extends across countries and institutions, and is easy to interconnect thanks to common standards and interoperable infrastructure.

Organizers

The event is jointly organized by the Open Knowledge Foundation, Open Knowledge Foundation Switzerland with the support of the Federal Councillor Alain Berset and the Canton of Geneva and with Lift Events as an organizing partner.

FAQs

Will there be other events in town during the Conference week?

Yes, we’re planning satellite workshops on Monday 16th September and Thursday 19th September. Please consider this when booking your travel!

When will the Call for Proposals be launched?

We will launch a Call for Proposals inviting you to send us your ideas for talks, panels and workshops in April. We can’t wait to make this happen together with you!

I’d like to offer my support as a volunteer. How can I apply?

We expect to welcome around 30 stewards in our team. Applications for these positions will be opening shortly, with preference given to those already in the Open Knowledge Foundation Task Force. Stewards will receive a free ticket.

Tips or support for travel and accommodation?

We’re planning to provide a travel bursary programme, and details of recommended hotels and hostels with good connections to the OKCon venue will be announced in the coming weeks.

What’s Happening with OKFestival?

Last year our annual Open Knowledge Conference expanded into the inaugural Open Knowledge Festival (OKFestival) which took place in Helsinki in September. This was a great event with a broad structure and festival atmosphere, and we look forward to future Open Knowledge Festivals. With their expanded format we’ll likely be running these in alternate years, giving plenty of time to plan and bring the community together.

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Avatar of Liliana Bounegru

by Liliana Bounegru

Announcing the School of Data Journalism 2013 in Perugia

March 20, 2013 in Events, School of Data, Workshop

Update 21 March: To register for the School of Data Journalism workshops please fill in your name and email address in this form.

Cross-posted on journalismfestival.com and the OKFN blog.

The European Journalism Centre and the Open Knowledge Foundation are pleased to invite you to Europe’s biggest data journalism event, the School of Data Journalism.

The 2nd edition of the School of Data Journalism is kindly hosted at the International Journalism Festival. Last year’s edition attracted hundreds of journalists and featured a stellar team of panelists and instructors from the New York Times, the Guardian, Deutsche Welle, Duke University, Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and ProPublica. This year we return with a leading team of about 20 new and returning panelists and instructors from Reuters, New York Times, Spiegel, Guardian, Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, Knight-Mozilla OpenNews and others, and a mix of discussions and hands-on sessions focusing on everything from cross-border data-driven investigative journalism, to emergency reporting and using Excel, the Twitter API, data visualisation and maps for journalism.

The 2013 edition takes place in the beautiful city of Perugia between 24-28 April. Entry to the School of Data Journalism panels and workshops is free.

school_bus_perugia_1.jpg

PANEL DISCUSSIONS

 

1. The State of Data Journalism in 2013 (24 April)

2. Data and Investigations: Collaborating Across Borders (25 April)

3. Data Journalism in Southern European Countries (26 April, co-organised with Ahref and datajournalism.it)

4. Covering Emergencies in the Age of Big Data (27 April)

Speakers:

  • Anthony de Rosa, Social Media Editor, Reuters
  • Aron Pilhofer, Editor of Interactive News, New York Times
  • Dan Sinker, Director, Knight-Mozilla OpenNews
  • Elisabetta Tola, co-founder Formicablu, data journalism trainer
  • Friedrich Lindenberg, OpenNews Fellow, Spiegel Online
  • Guido Romeo, Science Editor, Wired Italy, Ahref
  • Jack Thurston, writer, broadcaster and co-founder of Farmsubsidy.org and Fishsubsidy.org
  • James Ball, data journalist, Guardian
  • Mar Cabra, multimedia investigative journalist
  • Marko Rakar, president of Windmill, blogger and data journalist
  • Paul Radu, Executive Director of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting  Project, Co-founder of the Investigative Dashboard concept

Moderators:

  • Guido Romeo, Science Editor, Wired Italy, Ahref
  • Liliana Bounegru, Project lead Data Driven Journalism, European Journalism Centre
  • Lucy Chambers, Head of Knowledge, Open Knowledge Foundation
  • Rina Tsubaki, Project lead Emergency Journalism, European Journalism Centre


WORKSHOPS

 

1. Excel for Journalism with Steve Doig  (24 April)

2. Using the Twitter API for Journalism (25 April)

3. Making Data Visualisations: A Survival Guide (26 April)

4. Data Visualisation, Maps and Timelines on a Shoestring (27 April)

Instructors:

  • Steve Doig, Knight Chair in Journalism, Professor, Walter Cronkite School of Journalism
  • Michael Bauer, School of Data, Open Knowledge Foundation
  • Gregor Aisch, award-winning freelance data visualisation expert

The full description of the sessions can be found on the International Journalism Festival website.

How to register

There is no fee to attend the workshops but there is a limited number of available seats and they will be given out on a first-come first-served basis.More information about the registration process for the four workshops will be available in the coming days. Registration is not necessary for attending the panel discussions.

What do you need to bring?

Enthusiasm and a laptop are required for the workshop sessions. Please note for hands-on workshops tablet devices will not be appropriate.

Questions?

If you have questions about the School of Data Journalism get in touch with the coordinators: Liliana Bounegru or Lucy Chambers.

 

3 Comments »

Avatar of Kat Braybrooke

by Kat Braybrooke

Exploring ‘Openness’ Together: The Open Book to be Launched Friday at FutureEverything

March 18, 2013 in Featured, OKFest, Open Book

The Open Book

From makerspaces to data wrangling schools to archives, the digital is being remixed by the open – and it is changing society as we know it. New concepts about public information, transparency and the Commons are combining in unprecedented ways, resulting in a breadth of transformative collaborations. Nations across the globe seek formal understandings of how to open up government. What we all really mean by ‘open’, however, remains intriguingly vague.

The movement for open knowledge has been an attempt to start this conversation. In 2009, the Open Knowledge Foundation released the Open Definition for the first time, setting out principles to that defined “openness” in relation to data and content and aiming to ensure interoperability between different terms of open material. It has since been translated into over 20 languages and has inspired similar projects, such as the Open Design Definition we are building on Github to unite makers and hardware builders across paradigms. In 2011 the pioneering Data Driven Journalism Handbook was born at a 48 hour workshop at MozFest in London. Organisations like Creative Commons, Mozilla and the Free Software Foundation each have their own ways of interpreting ‘openness’ as seen in the continued debates surrounding non-restrictive CC license releases, Open Source versus Free Software methodologies and Open Web manifestos.

Despite these efforts, the question remains — what is so important about ‘open’?

Enter The Open Book, an ambitious crowdsourced publication built jointly with our friends at The Finnish Institute in London as a part of the critical Reaktio series. Inspired by the world’s first Open Knowledge Festival this fall in Helsinki, The Open Book explores the social and technological manifestations of this emergent movement for the first time, featuring over 25 in-depth thought pieces written by pioneers of openness around the world from London to São Paulo.

The Open Book

The group of contributors to The Open Book is a colourful one, including the Free Software Foundation’s Karsten Gerloff, Open Data Manchester’s Julian Tait, the Centre for Sustainable Communications’ Jorge Luis Zapico, The Guardian’s Simon Rogers, the Open Hardware Summit’s Catarina Mota, IBM’s Ville Peltola, Open Design Now‘s Peter Troxler, the Harvard Berkman Centre for Internet & Society’s Mayo Fuster Morelli and the Open Knowledge Foundation’s Rufus Pollock. Each piece explores a unique aspect of the open knowledge movement and how it has affected work, society and culture across paradigms, from government to business to design to education. Also included is “The Evolution of Open Knowledge”, the world’s first crowdsourced timeline of openness from 1425 to the current day which we asked you to contribute to earlier this year.

Due to the divisive nature of such an experimental publication, we do not attempt to present any single argument on what ‘open’ is. Instead, we hope The Open Book will serve as a platform for discussion and a launching pad for new ideas about the future of a global open knowledge movement in a time of rapid technological progress.

Through the process of building this publication, we’ve learned a few important things — first, the term ‘open’ is not a panacea in itself, and second that we certainly differ on the specifics of what it should be. We’ve also learned that despite our differences, this movement nevertheless finds commonalities in the shared belief that transparency is key to good governance, inclusivity in public participation and strong civil societies. We humbly thank those of you who sent us contributions, argued with us, shared your ideas and helped us understand the open knowledge movement through your words. It’s been a deeply enriching process for all of us on the editorial team.

Lastly, we are happy to announce that The Open Book will be launched in Manchester this Friday, March 22nd at the FutureEverything Conference. Everyone is welcome to attend; browse the flyer below for details about time and location. We hope to see you there, and look forward to the many discussions (and lively debates!) yet to come as a result of this wonderful project!

Open Book at Future Everything 2013

The Open Book will be available in print at FutureEverything and online as a freely-available PDF under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license. Its contributors retain individual copyright over their respective contributions, and have kindly agreed to release them for the book under the terms of this license.

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Avatar of Joris Pekel

by Joris Pekel

OpenGLAM at GLAM-Wiki 2013 conference

March 18, 2013 in Events

picture

Just one month to go before cultural experts from all over the world will come to London for an international celebration of open access and culture. GLAM-Wiki 2013 is a global conference, organised by the Wikimedia UK chapter in association with Wikimedia Sweden and Europeana, and hosted by the British Library. It examines the possibilities, relationships and potential for galleries, libraries, archives and museums in working with Wikimedia projects such as Wikipedia. The conference will take place on the weekend of 12-14 April at the British Library in London.

This conference will have two main themes. On Friday, the work the Wikimedia movement has been doing with cultural organisations will be explained to showcase what partnerships and opportunities are available. You will hear first-hand how some institutions are already leveraging the connection between sharing a part of their own collections with Wikimedia and seeing some amazing benefits – such as a sharp increase in traffic to their websites and an increase in sales of merchandising. Attendees will be able to better understand the crossover of mutual interest that Wikimedians share with curators of cultural heritage to further each other’s goals. On Saturday, the conference will focus on the more practical sides of the Wikimedia-GLAM collaborations, with workshops and discussions to develop ideas.

During this two days conference, the entire OpenGLAM team team will be present to talk about open cultural data, open content and the public domain. Besides that, the organisation managed to attract an impressive group of international keynote speakers. The list includes Michael Edson of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, Lizzy Jongma of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and Nick Poole of the Collections Trust in London.

As well as the keynote speakers there will be plenty of other activities taking place throughout the conference covering a broad range of topics related to the conference theme. You can see the schedule here Tickets are available for the conference and are priced from £15 to £40, with some scholarships available.

We hope to see many of you there!

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Avatar of Rufus Pollock

by Rufus Pollock

Open Data Maker Night

March 13, 2013 in Events, Meetups

This coming Tuesday the Open Knowledge Foundation are organizing an Open Data Maker Night in London at the Centre for Creative Collaboration!

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What

This will be an informal event focused on “making” with open data – whether that’s creating apps or insights. It won’t be a general meetup – if you come, expect to get pulled into actually building something, though we won’t force you!

We’ll have some quick introductory talks from David Miller of Open Healthcare UK about the great things you can do with open health data, and Rufus Pollock on how to dig into the the government’s finances — and there’s space for more, just leave a comment below.

Who

You don’t need to be a geek or an expert to participate – an interest and a willingness to get your hands dirty (digitally) making something is all that is needed. If you already have an idea or a problem you’d like to solve or investigate that’s even better!

See you there!

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