The Government of Kenya has won the bid to host the
international open data conference in 2020, despite its recent Internet tax,
which has largely attracted condemnation due to its effect on access to data
and dissemination, reports ITREALMS.
The hosting right, ITREALMS gathered was based on the
consistency and high-level leadership of the Deputy President, Hon. William
Ruto, on Open Government and data for development over the last three years.
ITREALMS also gathered that the 6th International Open Data
Conference (IODC) will be held in Africa for the first time, in Nairobi, Kenya,
in 2020.
This was revealed at the closing ceremony of the 5th IODC
2018 held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from September 27 – 28, 2018 under the
theme “The Future is Open.” This year’s IODC was organized by the Government of
Argentina, the World Bank, IDRC and OD4D with the support of Google, amongst
others.
The International Open Data Conference (IODC) is a bi-annual
premier gathering of champions of Open Data from Government, Civil Society,
Academia, innovators among others; to share, learn and collaborate on policies,
technologies, tactics, tools and platforms for making data more open,
accessible, available and interoperable in support of development priorities.
The IODC exists to accelerate collaboration and increase the
impact of open data activities globally, across different workstreams such as;
Agriculture, health, education, gender and fiscal transparency. For the last 10
years, the Government of Spain, the International Development Research Centre
(IDRC), the World Bank, and the Open Data for Development Network (OD4D) have
been the curators of the Conference.
The Government of Kenya won the bid based on the consistency
and high-level leadership of H.E the Deputy President, Hon. William Ruto, on
Open Government and data for development over the last three years.
Setting the stage for this honor, the Deputy President has
previously affirmed, “The President and I are committed to the creation of an
inclusive data ecosystem involving the government, the private sector,
academia, civil society, local communities, and development partners that
tackles the information aspects of development decision-making. We recognize
that if Kenya is to move ahead, we must deliberately pursue collaboration
between the government, academia, and entrepreneurs. It is no longer an issue
of political will, but a matter of rational economic and political choice.”
In response, the Office of the Deputy President has so far
co-founded the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data (GPSDD) with
over 400 leading Data Companies and Governments, energized the Global Open Data
for Agriculture and Nutrition (GODAN) by co-hosting a Summit with the
Governments of the United States and the United Kingdom in New York, convened a
high level meeting on Data for Development in Africa with the Governments of
Ghana and Sierra Leone and signed a land-mark agreement on with the Group on
Earth Observations (GEO) and National Aeronautic Space Administration (NASA),
to release 17 Years of satellite data for free to 5 Africa Countries (Kenya,
Ghana, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Senegal).
Mr. Rudi Borrmann, Undersecretary for Public Innovation and
Open Government, Argentina's Ministry for Modernization noted that “This will
be an excellent opportunity to share lessons learnt on hosting such an
auspicious gathering with Kenya, but most importantly, a practical opportunity
to strengthen the South-South Collaboration. We look forward to advising and
working with the Government of Kenya in the successful hosting of IODC in
2020.”
The theme of the International Open Data Conference in 2020
will be “Bridging Data Communities” a vision that received a resounding
endorsement by participants, noting the significance of the year 2020, that
will mark, five years after the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs) and the Paris Climate Agreement (PARIS21), as well as the 5th
anniversary of the Africa Agenda 2063 and 25 years since the Beijing Platform
for Action (BPfA).
The 2020 conference is expected to bring over 3000
participants to Nairobi from over 100 countries. Additionally, over 50 tech
international tech companies are expected to participate, exhibit and hopefully
invest in Africa’s burgeoning innovation spaces.
Receiving the baton to host #IODC20, on behalf of Kenya, Dr.
Korir Sing’Oei, Legal Advisor and Head of Policy, Office of the Deputy
President, said that, “We are indeed humbled and honored to be entrusted with
the next International Open Data Conference, which will be a tremendous
opportunity for the African Continent to showcase impact on how it has
harnessed the power of data, technology and innovation, to respond to the
age-old challenges of our populations. With this opportunity to host the next
IODC in 2020, we are signaling Africa’s readiness to play a leading role in
bridging the different data communities to deliver the benefits of data to our
economies and leave no one behind.”
Nenye Dom/GEE
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