By Winnie Kamau
Sounds of jubilation filled up the Usina del Arte Auditorium at the closing ceremony of the 5th International Open Data Conference (IODC) as the Legal Advisor, in the office of the Deputy President, Dr. Korir Sing’oei made the special announcement on behalf of Kenya’s Deputy President, William Ruto.
“I believe I have an important announcement to make and that is to invite you all to Kenya,” said Dr. Sing’oei as the Magical Kenya video played on revealing the expansive beauty of Kenya. The 6thInternational Open Data Conference will be held in Africa for the first time, in Nairobi, Kenya.
The International Open Data Conference is held bi-annually with the Regional meetings held in between including the Latin America and the African conversation which is led by the Africa Open Data Conference (AODC) to keep the conversations in open data going and also share and learn experiences in the Open Data sector.
According to the Press Release from the Deputy President’s office, 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.
Dr. Sing’oei speaking on behalf of Kenya, “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 conference, 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” he said.
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 learned on hosting such an auspicious gathering with Kenya, but most importantly, a practical opportunity to strengthen South-South Collaboration. We look forward to advising and working with the Government of Kenya in the successful hosting of IODC in 2020.”
The Open Data in Sub Sahara Africa session which was hosted by the Africa Open Data Network provided an opportunity for some of these thematic interest groups to meet and discuss potential areas for collaboration and prioritization over the next couple of years
The Government of Canada, the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the World Bank, and the Open Data for Development Network (OD4D) have been the curators of the Conference for the last 10 years. The Fifth IODC held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was organized by the Government of Argentina, the World Bank, IDRC and OD4D with the support of Google, amongst others.
The Office of the Deputy President has 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.
The government also convened a high level meeting on Data for Development in Africa with the Governments of Ghana and Sierra Leone and signed a landmark 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 African Countries including Kenya, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Senegal.
