Hello Open Knowledge community,
As we embark on the challenging year of 2026, we are excited to announce the launch of new publications, collaborations with our communities, and events to discuss critical issues on the open knowledge agenda.
In today’s newsletter, we revisit our latest field guide, which is dedicated to the governance of technologies of public interest with communities: The Tech We Want | Who Decides? A Quick Guide to Governance. This hands-on publication contains questions and guides to help you implement governance models directly.
Open Data Editor has officially been listed in the InfraFinder catalogue as reference software for data management — yet another accolade! Meanwhile, we have completely updated the ODE documentation. It is now much easier to take the first steps towards improving the quality of your data.
In February, make sure you don’t miss the third event in the series on the UN CSTD Working Group on Data Governance, organised by OKFN, Diplo and GIP. At this event, we will discuss what we can expect from the group this year.
Open Technology Research, an initiative we announced in December, was now officially launched with a website and agenda. It was unveiled last week during the EU Open Source Week in Brussels.
Register your event for Open Data Day (7–13 March) and visit the revamped Open Knowledge Forums, which are now running on our own infrastructure. This is where you will find the Open Knowledge Network. Find the latest updates from the Network in this newsletter, too.
Enjoy the reading.
For those who missed the launch in December, here’s the latest field guide from OKFN to help you sustain your public interest tech projects and communities.
Tip: there’s no one-size-fits-all 📐
Key content of the guide includes:
🙋🏾♀️ 8 questions every team should ask at the start of a public interest tech project, from “Who should have a voice in decisions?” to “Who is your community?”
📝 5 steps to a community governance framework, with each step to identify possible obstacles and awkward situations that are sure to arise during the project’s lifetime.
🤗 Practical tips on designing a governance model for your community, and what roles are usually in place to keep everyone committed, listened and engaged.
✍️ A hands-on community governance template to help teams reflect on how power is balanced within the project and what ways the community can truly collaborate.
Open Data Editor, a Benchmark Data Management Tool on InfraFinder
🏅 We are proud to announce the inclusion of the Open Data Editor in the InfraFinder catalogue, a tool to foster discovery, adoption, and investment for open infrastructure services by Invest in Open Infrastructure (IOI).
Open Data Editor is your no-code app for error-free spreadsheets, and guaranteed privacy and FAIR data. It is among the 134 solutions added this January, and received a special mention in the announcement as a benchmark data management tool: software used to gather, structure, clean, and maintain datasets.
ODE’s Now Complete Documentation Available in English
Both concise and detailed, the Open Data Editor Docs are up to date with project context, tutorials, use cases, and all technical documentation. If you are one of the nearly 10,000 people using the app, be sure to check it out. Translations of the guides into Spanish, Portuguese, French, Indonesian Bahasa, and Mayan will be available in the coming weeks.
New Videos for Our DPGs: CKAN and ODE
In case you missed the launch in December, here’s a new chance to get introduced to OKFN’s two digital public goods: CKAN and Open Data Editor. The videos explain how our technology can enable a fairer, more open and sustainable world in plain language that everyone can understand, including those outside the worlds of technology and open data. Share them with your non-technical colleagues!
Open Technology Research Officially Launches to Strengthen Global Research Community
OpenForum Europe (OFE), the Open Source Initiative (OSI), and the Open Knowledge Foundation (OKFN) are announcing the official launch of Open Technology Research (OTR) – a strategic partnership designed to strengthen the global open technology research community and advance evidence-based policymaking around open technologies.
More information about Open Technology Research is available at opentechresearch.org. Details about the process for developing the research agenda and the location of the 2026 Open Technology Research Symposium will be announced in the coming weeks.
Join Us to Discuss the 2026 Working Cycle of the UN CSTD Working Group on Data Governance
In the third event of the ‘Decoding the CSTD WG on data governance online series’, co-organised by Diplo, Open Knowledge Foundation (OKFN) and the Geneva Internet Platform, we will discuss the progress made by the UN CSTD Working Group so far and prospects for its 2026 working cycle. We will particularly explore:
- The current status of parallel working tracks created under the WGDG, and some preliminary conclusions reached under these tracks.
- The ongoing consultation, aiming to collect inputs for the group’s deliberations (open until 31 January, more information on the website of the WGDG).
- What to expect in 2026, as the group moves into the drafting of the Report.
Join us online on 10 February, 14:00 – 15:00 CET (13:00-14:00 UTC) to understand how to effectively engage in discussions aiming to turn data into a true catalyst for inclusive development for all.
The Open Data Community Can’t Wait to Join Your Event
The event registration for Open Data Day 2026 is now open. It will take place during the second week of March (7-13), when the global open data community will come together to share resources, learn from each other and advocate the power of open data. You can now register on the website and map.
The voices of the communities. The grassroots impact of Open Data Day.
🇧🇩 Harnessing Open Data for Flood Preparedness
By Zobaer Rahman
The Institute of Remote Sensing and GIS (IRS), Jahangirnagar University, united over 50 students in a full-day program dedicated to open data, disaster resilience, and community engagement. ↪ Learn more
🇳🇬 Leveraging Open Data for Child Advocacy
By Leonard Onumajulu
A workshop with children was the highlight of this ODD event, when participants engaged in interactive activities to understand how data can be used to advocate for their rights.
↪ Learn more
Say Hello Again to Open Knowledge’s Discussion Infrastructure
The forums hosting two decades of conversations about open knowledge projects worldwide are back at discuss.okfn.org. The site is now self-hosted on OKFN’s infrastructure to keep our conversations truly ours and is open to all. We are reactivating it as a central hub for our communities, so please feel free to make use of it. It’s yours!
📄 Open data meets data justice
This research article by Caterina Santoro, Ramya Chandrasekhar and Stefania Milan explores how many open data initiatives adheres to ‘techno-legal’ characteristics but do not live up to their promises of enabling ‘vision’ (i.e., ensuring transparency) and ‘voice’ (i.e., enabling participation ) for citizens, especially when algorithms and AI tools are integrated into the workings of public administrations. It was published in the Internet Policy Review journal.
🔖 Check out the OKFN Annual Report for 2025
Last year we demonstrated that technology can be done differently: in an open, long-lasting, resilient and affordable way to solve people’s problems. It was a turbulent and monothematic year, with a great deal of noise surrounding the AI bubble. We also embraced this trend, but in our own way: we explored open and fair governance mechanisms and tools to democratise data and AI.
Check out the latest highlights from our global movement.
🇦🇺 Australia – The Everything Open 2026 conference was held in Canberra on 21-23 January. Steven De Costa presented a keynote session titled, Everything Open Everywhere All At Once and introduced some of the ideas behind the Objective Observer Initiative. He also released data, code and documentation for the triadic architecture of Meditations. A way of illustrating how causal dynamics might provide a pathway to ‘objective’ public datasets, designed and co-constructed for the public good.
🇧🇷 With the support of the United Kingdom Embassy in Brazil, Open Knowledge Brazil started the year off with a new Escola de Dados project. “Data for Rights: open technologies in the fight against human trafficking” focuses on combining data literacy, the Freedom of Information Act, and digital investigation techniques as a strategy to combat human trafficking, which, as the project sees it, is directly related to the current information crisis. Two free online workshops were held in mid-January, and five people were selected to receive a micro-grant of £500 to produce investigations, articles, or analyses on migration, human trafficking, sexual exploitation, and slave-like labor. The selected fellows are now being mentored by journalist Aline Boueri to develop their investigations and articles, which are supposed to be published by mid-March.
The project’s workshops “OSINT techniques and digital protection in human rights contexts”, taught by Paulo Motoryn and Joana Varon, and “Strategic use of LAI in investigations into human trafficking and exploitation”, conducted by Thays Lavor and Laís Martins, are already available on Escola de Dados YouTube channel.
🇬🇷 Within the framework of the UPCAST project, Open Knowledge Greece produced and published the Upcast Training Program, which is a webinar series (19 videos) designed to equip public administration and SMEs with the essential skills to manage data-sharing and data-processing agreements effectively. The webinars transform complex concepts into actionable, real-world skills unlocking new opportunities for operational innovation and efficiency.
We are very proud to participate in the ARXIVE project along with a multidisciplinary consortium of nine partners from five countries, combining deep expertise in Cultural Heritage, digital technologies, AI, and innovation management.
Save the dates!
RightsCon 2026
Zambia
5–8 May
In engaging fireside chats, hands-on workshops, strategic roundtables, private meetings, and a lively exhibition space, RightsCon is where a global movement comes together to build strategies and drive forward change toward a more free, open, and connected digital world.
Wikimania 2026
Paris
21–25 July
For those interested in open technology, digital policy, and EU developments, OpenForum Europe brings together open source leaders and policymakers. Together with FOSDEM, these events make up the EU Open Source Week.
About us.
Open knowledge is any content, information or data that people are free to use, re-use and redistribute — without any legal, technological or social restriction.
The Open Knowledge Foundation’s mission is to create a fair, sustainable and open digital future, advancing open knowledge as a design principle beyond just data. We do it by guiding and supporting the creation of digital infrastructure, developing policies and methodologies, harnessing communities and advocating for literacies and standards in a sustainable, ethical and agile manner.
