We know that you will be concerned about the impact of COVID-19 on you and your loved ones.
At the Open Knowledge Foundation, our thoughts are with all those around the world who have been affected by the outbreak, and we would like to thank everyone working on the frontline to tackle the virus – health workers, researchers, public servants, cleaners, scientists, shopworkers and many, many others. We urge everyone to follow the official advice issued in their own country.
Despite the challenging circumstances, the Open Knowledge Foundation will continue to campaign for a fair, free and open future.
We recognise that data can play a significant role in obtaining positive solutions to the pandemic when it is open, accessible and disseminated in ways that are useful.
Emergency situations inevitably require emergency governmental powers, so we will be looking to apply our knowledge and skills to ensure technologies are developed and deployed in a manner that is equitable for everyone.
The Open Knowledge Foundation will maintain our international links which will be more critical than ever in the months and years ahead. We will continue to use our best endeavours to support all of our stakeholders and our team members.
We want to reassure all our partners that we expect to be working and delivering on our commitments as normal during this time. We have been a remote organisation for many years and on a practical level, we want to share our individual experiences in the hope that they may be of benefit and comfort to others as people recalibrate. You can read our recently published article on my experiences of remote working here. Remote working has many challenges and opportunities, and being open about our experiences will help others as this practice becomes the new normal.
Catherine was the Chief Executive Officer of the Open Knowledge Foundation until August 2020 when she became the Chief Executive Officer of Creative Commons. She represented Scotland in the European Parliament between 1999 and 2019. As Vice-Chair of the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee, Catherine worked on digital policy, prioritising the digital single market, digital skills, better accessibility of digital products for the disabled, as well as citizen online data protection and privacy.
