DataStories Symposium - Open Knowledge Blog

At the DataStories Symposium 2020 we will explore how people engage with data to create stories.

Data is represented in different ways to allow us to understand and make use of it: in numbers, in text, in visualisations, in interactive stories and other forms. Data stories are relevant to many areas of our life – they are part of the news, of how we engage with science and research, they inform our decisions and they help us explain the world.

We are getting more and more aware that data should excite as well as inform and be engaging as well as educating. Data should be presented in a transparent manner that allows different perspectives and supports us in understanding the uncertainties attached to it.

The DataStories Symposium 2020 will bring together experts from academia, industry and the third sector to discuss, generate ideas and inspire future interdisciplinary collaborations aiming to explore Human Data Interaction in relation to storytelling with data.

Contributors and guests include: researchers, data journalists, data artists, computer scientists, curators, game designers, amongst others.

We will have three exciting keynote speakers, interactive sessions and lightning talks to showcase ongoing work and to discuss current challenges around datastories. Topics include, but are not limited to:

Experiencing data through storytelling, art and games
Narrative practices for data stories
Data representations: narrative visualisations and other forms
Human Data Interaction
Making sense of data and uncertainty
Transparent reporting in data journalism

Currently confirmed speakers include: Anna Feigenbaum (Bournemouth University), Andrew Tatem (University of Southampton, Director of WorldPop and Flowminder), Benjamin Bach (University of Edinburgh), David Caswell (BBC News Labs), Phil Harvey (Microsoft), Caelainn Barr (The Guardian), Michele Mauri (DENSITYDESIGN LAB), Kathleen Gregory (DANS), Tom Blount (University of Southampton), Nick Holliman (Newcastle University), Marc Streit (Johannes Kepler University Linz), Ginestra Ferraro (King’s College London), Stefanie Posavec.

The event is free of charge and will be held virtually on ZOOM. We are hoping for a diverse audience from a variety of backgrounds, fields and practices.