[OKFN-CH] WG: A Data Revolution that Works for All of Us - Open Knowledge Foundation Blog

Thu Sep 25 12:36:11 UTC 2014

(sorry for cross postings)
Best André

André Golliez
Präsident Verein Opendata.ch, www.opendata.ch<http://www.opendata.ch/>
Swiss Chapter of the Open Knowledge Foundation, www.okfn.org<http://www.okfn.org>

andre.golliez at itopia.ch<mailto:andre.golliez at itopia.ch>
managing partner
itopia ag - corporate information technology,
technoparkstrasse 1, ch-8005 zürich
+41 44 355 56 24 direct
+41 79 669 05 52 mobile
www.itopia.ch<http://www.itopia.ch/>

Von: noreply+feedproxy at google.com [mailto:noreply+feedproxy at google.com] Im Auftrag von Open Knowledge Foundation Blog
Gesendet: Donnerstag, 25. September 2014 14:11
An: Golliez André
Betreff: A Data Revolution that Works for All of Us - Open Knowledge Foundation Blog

A Data Revolution that Works for All of Us - Open Knowledge Foundation Blog<http://blog.okfn.org>

[Link to Open Knowledge Foundation Blog]<http://blog.okfn.org>

________________________________

A Data Revolution that Works for All of Us<http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/okfn/~3/eiJEZCHzwQw/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email>

Posted: 24 Sep 2014 05:10 AM PDT

Many of today’s global challenges are not new. Economic inequality, the unfettered power of corporations and markets, the need to cooperate to address global problems and the unsatisfactory levels of accountability in democratic governance – these were as much problems a century ago as they remain today.

What has changed, however – and most markedly – is the role that new forms of information and information technology could potentially play in responding to these challenges.

[http://assets.okfn.org/p/okfn/img/okfn-logo-landscape-l.png]

What’s going on?

The incredible advances in digital technology mean we have an unprecedented ability to create, share and access information. Furthermore, these technologies are increasingly not just the preserve of the rich, but are available to everyone – including the world’s poorest. As a result, we are living in a (veritable) data revolution – never before has so much data – public and personal – been collected, analysed and shared.

However, the benefits of this revolution are far from being shared equally.

On the one hand, some governments and corporations are already using this data to greatly increase their ability to understand – and shape – the world around them. Others, however, including much of civil society, lack the necessary access and capabilities to truly take advantage of this opportunity. Faced with this information inequality, what can we do?

How can we enable people to hold governments and corporations to account for the decisions they make, the money they spend and the contracts they sign? How can we unleash the potential for this information to be used for good – from accelerating research to tackling climate change? And, finally, how can we make sure that personal data collected by governments and corporations is used to empower rather than exploit us?

So how should we respond?

Fundamentally, we need to make sure that the data revolution works for all of us. We believe that key to achieving this is to put “open” at the heart of the digital age. We need an open data revolution.

We must ensure that essential public-interest data is open, freely available to everyone. Conversely, we must ensure that data about me – whether collected by governments, corporations or others – is controlled by and accessible to me. And finally, we have to empower individuals and communities – especially the most disadvantaged – with the capabilities to turn data into the knowledge and insight that can drive the change they seek.

In this rapidly changing information age – where the rules of the game are still up for grabs – we must be active, seizing the opportunities we have, if we are to ensure that the knowledge society we create is an open knowledge society, benefiting the many not the few, built on principles of collaboration not control, sharing not monopoly, and empowerment not exploitation.

You are subscribed to email updates from Open Knowledge Foundation Blog<http://blog.okfn.org>
To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now<http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailunsubscribe?k=8wrNSGKhiSbbbEf_4TZZkNh2C00>.

Email delivery powered by Google

Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.okfn.org/pipermail/okfn-ch/attachments/20140925/6412e100/attachment-0002.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: smime.p7s
Type: application/x-pkcs7-signature
Size: 5341 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.okfn.org/pipermail/okfn-ch/attachments/20140925/6412e100/attachment-0002.bin>