[kictanet] Data revolution in Kenya

[waudo siganga]

Not heard of this Data Forum Kivuva. It's being held where?

On Fri, Aug 28, 2015, at 11:59 AM, Mwendwa Kivuva via kictanet wrote:
> 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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