Global Impact of Open Data Day
Fecha de la noticia: 10-03-2016

On 5th April global open data community celebrated the International Open Data Day. With a common aim, several working groups, public administrations and civic organizations worked together to turn open data into the key player of the 262 events organized in the different regions of the Planet.
In this regard, Nigeria was one of the most active countries in the African continent. Under the global initiative Open Data Party, several master classes were held to show the attendees tools for data processing. In other countries, meeting and events were organized to develop solutions based on the re-use of local open data, as in the case of Burkina Faso; where a prototype and application were created to map water cuts in its capital.
In Europe, the initiative International Open Data Hackathon had its maximum impact in Germany, where five of its main cities held several hackathons in which developers, journalists, analysts, infomediaries and citizens met up to create data visualizations and analysis. Attention should also be drawn to the unconference sponsored by the Northern Ireland Open Government Network, which brought together ten experts belonging to public and private sector who not only showed what they are working on in open data but they also explained their ideas to boost the re-use of open data in the different industries of the region. This event became a space for dialogue, peer-to-peer learning, collaboration and creativity for Northern Irish community.
On the other side of the Atlantic, the Fundación Ciudadano Inteligente -organization that promotes citizen participation through the use of ICT- organized one of the most original activities of Open Data Day in Latin America. Santiago de Chile was chosen to celebrate an edithon, an event in which, apart from explaining the positive impact of open data on society, participants created and edited Wikipedia articles about the history and present of the area.
In Mexico City more than 170 people met to participate in the workshops organized by 15 entities from civic society, technology, government and journalism. In those workshops, subjects as open access to information, uses and mistakes of big data and advanced visualization with 3D were discussed.
Travelling to northern half of the American continent, Canada led the day thanks to Vancouver Open Data Day Hackathon where assistants had a clear goal: create a meaningful open data app or visualization that citizens can use. Besides, a prototype had to be demoed at the end of the day, when a competition panel voted for the best solutions under six different categories. Simultaneously, the city of Toronto held its own hackathon to celebrate the global open data day, in which 112 participants collaborated in 9 challenges related to open data and open government.
Lastly, Japan gathered 70% of open data events organized in Asia; in fact, only in the capital, Tokyo, more than ten events were held. Nevertheless, special attention should be given to the workshop of Public Affairs Centre in India, where, based on governmental data, assistants created databases and defined analysis methodologies to engage citizens to participate in government processes.
Information about global events is available in a visualization made by Open Data Day initiative which localizes on a virtual map each activity held last Saturday. Next global open data appointment will take place by early October in Madrid, during the International Open Data Conference. A new opportunity to keep working together in the future of open publication of information.