[kictanet] Data revolution in Kenya

[Mwendwa Kivuva]

So the Data Forum is happening in Nairobi, with the aim of harnessing the
data revolution for sustainable development. Well, the meeting started an
hour and more from schedule (They say it’s a Kenyan thing), but luckily,
participants had the chance to showcase their social skills and chitchat
with their neighbors ... data scientists, policy makers, innovators,
entrepreneurs, academicians, media, and all  …


In mid 2011, government institutions were able to release public data
through the Kenya  Open Data Initiative with full of executive support.
Support from the top, say President. It was the first African government
north of the Limpopo to do so. It was a big deal then, it still is. It
seems Uhuru’s government is keen to continue with the same, although since
coming into power in 2013, they seem to have dropped the ball. From 2011,
the next update for data sets available at opendata.go.ke only came through
mid 2015. It’s a big deal still, *but for it to remain so; there must be a
policy to require the relevant government agencies, and even ICT Authority
of Kenya to continuously release data as it becomes available*. We should
also have proper legislation (freedom of information act, data protection
act, Official Secrets Act,) to enable agencies release data in the confines
of the law.


The importance of open data is not in doubt. According to Socrata, the
American firm dedicated to providing social data discovery services for
opening governments; “The impact of data as a utility is real — informing
the daily decisions of government employees and citizens in ways that
improve quality of life, unleash new economic opportunity, and increase
operational excellence in government”.


Well, how are these researchers, policy experts, think tanks (I love the
word), innovators, and civil society using the datasets to inform the
society on which direction to take as a country? Moving from the fabled UN
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
as DP William Ruto would put it, how are we using these datasets to realize
SDGs? These are the questions the conference seems to address.

It’s great to see the Government of Kenya seeks to host the World Data
Forum in Kenya in 2016.


Sincerely,
______________________
Mwendwa Kivuva, Nairobi, Kenya

"There are some men who lift the age they inhabit, till all men walk on
higher ground in that lifetime." - Maxwell Anderson
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