“What does “open” ? mean today? What should it mean? What has changed since 2015, when the Open Definition was last updated?
We at Open Knowledge are preparing another round of consultations on updating the “Open Definition”. We will have a face-to-face session in Spanish during RightsCon to ensure the voices of the Latin American communities gathered in Costa Rica are heard and incorporated to the review process. It will be a practical session to write collectively….”
“Open Data Day event was held in Tamale, Ghana on 10th March 2023, with the theme “Open Data Revolution, Fueling the Future of AI” organised by Dagbani Wikimedians Usergroup. The event featured three speakers who shared their insights on open data initiatives, AI-powered solutions for various industries, and exploring AI for daily problems. It was attended by an audience from diverse backgrounds, including students, researchers, industry professionals, and open knowledge enthusiasts….”
“One week ago at MozFest, we began the process of rethinking and updating the Open Definition for today’s challenges and contexts. …Key Takeaways: Diversity – It was recognised that the original Open Definition process was mostly carried out by people with a fairly high-level profile, but little diversified. Governance – It is necessary to design a new governance model for the Open Definition to seek an even greater consensus than before. There is a need to actively and radically include people from other origins, races, genders, classes, etc., and in a way that everyone feels a constituent part of the process. Misuse – One of the biggest problems when it comes to open content today is the misuse and abuse of the word open, used to describe technologies and contexts that actually do not satisfy any of the criteria defined by the Open Definition. Participants mentioned the need for mechanisms for reporting misuses, or how the definition could have a more supervisory/validating role. Ethics – There was a discussion about the term “for any purpose” which, according to the current definition, is an essential part of what makes content open. Some arguments revolved around the concepts of “responsible use” (like in Responsible AI Licences), or “do no evil”. Universality – There were also debates about the universality of the concept. Some argued that there should be a single generalised definition, while others pointed out the need to make the definition always dynamic and context-related. Language – Many pointed out that the Open Definition should abandon jargon, legal, economic and technical vocabularies to adopt a more accessible and easy-to-understand language, especially for those who are not familiar with the concept.
Considering the above, we at the Open Knowledge Foundation are happy to announce that: We are absorbing the feedback and organising ourselves to take the first formal step: proposing a governance model to guide discussions in the coming months. We are reactivating the official Open Definition discussion forum, where the past conversations took place. Anyone who would like to contribute is welcome to join. We are slowly revamping and editing the Open Definition website (open to contributions via GitHub) and preparing it for the upcoming discussions….”
“Open Data Day is a yearly celebration of open data all around the world. This year, Open Knowledge Somalia organised serial training and workshops for the local community in Mogadishu to promote the use and accessibility of open data and highlight the importance of open data and its potential to empower citizens, inform policy decisions, and drive innovation. The theme of this year was open data on artificial intelligence….”
“Version 2.1
The Open Definition makes precise the meaning of “open” with respect to knowledge, promoting a robust commons in which anyone may participate, and interoperability is maximized.
Summary: Knowledge is open if anyone is free to access, use, modify, and share it — subject, at most, to measures that preserve provenance and openness.
This essential meaning matches that of “open” with respect to software as in the Open Source Definition and is synonymous with “free” or “libre” as in the Free Software Definition and Definition of Free Cultural Works….”
“The Open Definition (https://opendefinition.org/od/2.1/en/) is one of the most historically important collaborative works for the open movement. However, over the years and due to the emergence of new technologies, identities and enclosures, we at Open Knowledge feel that this work needs to be expanded, including more voices, diversity, and cultural contexts. We want to invite the Mozilla communities to a hands-on session to create a document about what, why and how the Open Definition should be reviewed. Join us in thinking what “open” means today!…”
“The Open Definition initiative was a collaborative process led by the Open Knowledge Foundation more than a decade ago that created a consensus among experts by defining openness in relation to data and content, in a collaborative, open process with volunteer leading experts in the field, who did a remarkable job.
It specified what licences for such material may and may not stipulate to be considered open. It turned out to be one of the most historically important collaborative works for the open movement.
It was mission accomplished at some point, and there was no pressing need to review it – just to maintain it and observe how the open knowledge ecosystem was adopting it. It got translated into 41 languages by volunteers, it made it to Wikipedia and it influenced state and municipal policies, academia, and beyond.
However, technology and policy have profoundly changed since the 2.1 version, its last update from 2016. Since then, technology, society and conversations around what should be open and shared have expanded in geography and complexity….”
“We at the Open Knowledge Foundation (OKFN) are excited to announce the list of organisations that have been awarded small grants to help them host Open Data Day(s) (ODD) events and activities across the world.
In total, we received 71 small grant applications this year from 30 countries and were greatly impressed by the quality of the event proposals.
This year the winners will receive a grant of USD 500 each to cover the expenses of their ODD event. OKFN opened the donation round with more than half of the prizes and was followed by sponsorship from Link Digital and Datopian.
These are the 20 organisations that will receive small grants (by country, in alphabetical order):…”
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Open Data Day (ODD) is the annual celebration of open data all over the world, where groups from around the world create local events to promote open data or use open data in their communities. 2023 Open Data Day(s) will take place from 4th to 10th March.
ODD usually sees thousands of people getting together at hundreds of events organised by communities. The Open Knowledge Foundation (OKFN) has been helping to organise and maintain it to foster an open data community.
Organising the event itself is a not so easy task and achieving a greater impact from the organised event is more difficult. So, to ease the process and guide the community to organise a successful ODD event, we have compiled the following resources that can be helpful for everyone.
This blog will highlight how you can host/organise/run a successful ODD event in your country by making the best utilisation of the available resources….”
“We at Open Knowledge Foundation (OKFN) are excited to announce the launch of the Open Data Day(s) 2023 Small Grants Application to support organisations hosting Open Data events and activities across the world.
The application deadline is 26th February 2023 and only registered organisations can apply for the grants to host in-person events. The events supported by the grants should take place during the Open Data Day(s) from 4th to 10th March 2023 and must be registered at the Open Data Day website….”
“We are pleased to announce the date for Open Data Day(s) 2023. Open Data Day (ODD) is an annual celebration of open data all over the world, where groups and communities gather to reach out to new people and build new solutions using open data. Each year, groups from around the world create local events on the day where they use open data in their communities. It is an opportunity to show the benefits of open data and encourage the adoption of open data policies by government, business, and civil society.
As a way to increase the representation of different cultures around the world, in this edition, we offer the opportunity for organisations to host the ODD event on the best date for their location between March 4th and 10th 2023.
ODD is a bottom-up initiative and Open Knowledge Foundation (OKFN) has facilitated and helped organise it for the last 7 years. Check out the open data day activities from 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022….”
“We have a very exciting announcement today. We are relaunching the Open Knowledge Network!
If you haven’t heard about it in the past, the Network connects those in the open movement across the globe. The members use advocacy, technology and training to unlock information, to create and share knowledge, with the goal of enabling people to take action to achieve local impact.
For the record, the Network started in 2010 with a bunch of passionate people from the open movement starting some informal community meetups in Germany and Greece. Since then, building on the global enthusiasm around open knowledge (and open data more specifically), the Network has expanded to 40 countries across the globe.
Today, we are in a different phase. Over the years, the communities composing the Network became mature. Now operating independently, they are setting their own priorities for projects relevant to each country or domain. It is very gratifying to realise that people in the Network have grown their expertise and have become established leaders of the open knowledge movement worldwide.
All this potential could not be wasted. We all really believe in the power of openness and in doing it together, not alone. For this reason, at the beginning of 2022, the Open Knowledge Foundation started convening Network representatives to understand what future direction we imagined for us all….”
“Open Knowledge Foundation, under a new direction, is seeking to innovate in technology services and products to advance its mission. For that purpose, it is seeking external guidance to determine its current weakness and strengths and guide the team, in coordination with the CEO, to define its innovation roadmap towards 2025.
Who is our ideal candidate?
A tech visionary with experience in the public and non-profit sectors.
With a big picture view of data and their intended users: from journalists to scientists, etc. to explore new projects.
Experienced in interacting with tech teams, receptive to new ideas.
Ability to explore and suggest market and sustainability solutions for current and future products.
Familiarity with new technologies.
Knowledge about data protection, cybersecurity and encryption is a plus. …”
“We are looking for an early career open knowledge enthusiast to assist OKFN CEO in the implementation of an updated global strategy. Reporting directly to the CEO, the Executive Assistant provides executive support in a one-on-one working relationship. The Executive Assistant will serve as the primary point of contact for internal and external constituencies and International Network Members.
The executive assistant will liaise with staff, organise and coordinate executive outreach and external relations efforts and oversee special projects, in collaboration with the Communications Coordinator and the Director of Operations.
The Executive Assistant must be creative and enjoy working within a remote, international environment that is mission-driven, results-driven and community oriented. The ideal individual will have the ability to exercise good judgement in a variety of situations, with strong written and verbal communication, administrative, and organisational skills, and the ability to maintain a realistic balance among multiple priorities.
The Executive Assistant will have the ability to work independently on special projects, such as the Open Data Day, the team summits, but also complete a broad variety of administrative tasks for the CEO, including: managing an extremely active calendar of appointments; completing expense reports; composing and preparing correspondence that is sometimes confidential; arranging complex and detailed travel plans, itineraries, and agendas; and compiling documents for travel-related meetings….”