[okfn-za] Open data in South Africa?

Mon Jul 11 12:16:28 UTC 2011

Hi Jonathan,

The central mail list is a good idea. I'm flying up to Johannesburg /
Pretoria later this week for a series of quick meetings with potential
stakeholders, including possible government champions to drive the
initiative from within the civil service. As I get commitments / expressions
of interest, I'll get people to sign up.

I've had good success over the past week pulling in key civil society
thought-leaders & data custodians. On the advice of *Kaushal Jhalla, @ the
World Bank's data team, we're also exploring the possibility of a fast-track
city-level, or provincial proof-of-concept pilot in South Africa. The
political & regulatory landscape is slightly more contested when it comes to
access to info issues down here.*
*
*
*It would be great, however, if you could like us with whoever else you know
is working on open data in South Africa. Pooling resources and efforts is
always more efficient.*
*
*
*Cheers,*
*Justin*

Justin Arenstein*
*
SA Mobile: +27-82-374-0812
US Mobile: +1-650-336-5878 *
*Skype: JustinArenstein
Twitter: JustinArenstein <http://twitter.com/justinarenstein>
Web: http://www.linkedin.com/in/JustinArenstein

On 11 July 2011 12:29, Jonathan Gray <jonathan.gray at okfn.org> wrote:

> (Forking threads)
>
> Justin: this is all very exciting! I think we'd be very interested in
> participating!
>
> Rufus, Lucy: might you be able to catch up for a call with Justin
> about this at some point?
>
> Justin: we know several other people interest in open data in South
> Africa. To try and bring them onto the same page as soon as possible,
> I've just set up the following mailing list:
>
> http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/okfn-za
>
> Perhaps you could invite other interested parties there - and we could
> take things forward on the list? That way there is a public archive so
> others can go back and see how things developed. What do you think?
>
> All the best,
>
> Jonathan
>
> On Sun, Jul 10, 2011 at 5:37 PM, Justin Arenstein
> <justinarenstein at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Hi guys,
> > Ory has just confirmed that Google would be keen to assist, as it did in
> > Kenya. The Nelson Mandela Foundation, and a couple of other key local
> > custodians of public knowledge have also signed up for an exploratory
> > discussion.
> > Cheers,
> > Justin
> >
> >
> > On 9 July 2011 16:04, Justin Arenstein <justinarenstein at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >>
> >> Jonathan / Jay,
> >> Hi guys. The brilliant success of the Kenyan launch has enabled me to
> win
> >> some exploratory support for a similar initiative in South Africa from a
> >> major institutional thoughtleader down here: the Praekelt Foundation.
> >> They've just agreed (via a Google+ chat ... proving it is useful as a
> >> networking tool) to host a preliminary meeting to gauge local support.
> >> As I've previously indicated, South Africa is undertaking a major census
> >> later this year, plus its Treasury is opening up on state expenditure &
> >> contracting in a bid to fight corruption.
> >> Now is a good time to get the ball rolling. Would the World Bank & OKF
> be
> >> interested in participating in a campaign + in building the first
> OpenData
> >> platforms down here? I'm chatting to Ory @ Google to get them onboard,
> plus
> >> am reaching out to various UN folk.
> >> Cheers,
> >> Justin
> >>
> >> Justin Arenstein
> >>
> >> SA Mobile: +27-82-374-0812
> >> US Mobile: +1-650-336-5878
> >> Skype: JustinArenstein
> >> Twitter: JustinArenstein
> >> Web: http://www.linkedin.com/in/JustinArenstein
> >>
> >>
> >> On 8 July 2011 13:37, Jonathan Gray <jonathan.gray at okfn.org> wrote:
> >>>
> >>> Excellent - I look forward to hearing from you once the dust has
> settled!
> >>> :-)
> >>>
> >>> Very exciting about the launch!
> >>>
> >>> J.
> >>>
> >>> On Thu, Jul 7, 2011 at 10:51 PM, Jay Bhalla <jay at jayshiv.ca> wrote:
> >>> > Sure Jonathan, I'll get to it as soon as we survive tomorrow......
> Just
> >>> > got
> >>> > back from the conference center. I'm tweeting from @opendatakenya if
> >>> > you
> >>> > want to spread the word and will send you the live broadcast link
> >>> > starting
> >>> > 10am our time.
> >>> >
> >>> > On Jul 7, 2011, at 15:12, Jonathan Gray <jonathan.gray at okfn.org>
> wrote:
> >>> >
> >>> >> Great to hear from you Jay!
> >>> >>
> >>> >> On Thu, Jul 7, 2011 at 11:04 AM, Jay Bhalla <jay at jayshiv.ca> wrote:
> >>> >>>
> >>> >>> Great to connect with you. Apologies for the delay in responding
> but
> >>> >>> we've
> >>> >>> been snowed under with the Open data launch happening tomorrow in
> >>> >>> Kenya.
> >>> >>> I
> >>> >>> should post a live stream to it as soon as i get it.
> >>> >>
> >>> >> Fantastic! I really look forward to hearing more about this. Might
> you
> >>> >> be able to recommend someone who could write a guest blog post about
> >>> >> this for the Open Knowledge Foundation Blog? Perhaps you'd be
> willing
> >>> >> to draft something?
> >>> >>
> >>> >>> I am part of the team coordinating  the open data initiative here
> and
> >>> >>> would
> >>> >>> also love to start a discussion on how we can have an Open
> Government
> >>> >>> Data
> >>> >>> Camp in Kenya seeing as Kenya is going to be one of the first
> >>> >>> Countries
> >>> >>> in
> >>> >>> the world to launch an Open Data Site. It would be good to know
> what
> >>> >>> the
> >>> >>> logistics are to put on such kind of event.
> >>> >>
> >>> >> Brilliant. Also could you recommend a good point of contact for
> >>> >> someone who could help us to keep datacatalogs.org up to date? This
> is
> >>> >> an international initiative with key stakeholders from around the
> >>> >> world:
> >>> >>
> >>> >> http://datacatalogs.org/about
> >>> >>
> >>> >>> I've added my name to the list to be kept up to date with the
> >>> >>> conference.
> >>> >>> Let's touch base early next week. My skype id is : jayeesh75
> >>> >>
> >>> >> Great. Also might you be willing to introduce yourself on our
> >>> >> international open-government list? I'm sure lots of people on it
> >>> >> would be interested to hear more about your work!
> >>> >>
> >>> >> http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/open-government
> >>> >>
> >>> >> All the best,
> >>> >>
> >>> >> Jonathan
> >>> >>
> >>> >>> On Wed, Jul 6, 2011 at 7:03 PM, Jonathan Gray
> >>> >>> <jonathan.gray at okfn.org>
> >>> >>> wrote:
> >>> >>>>
> >>> >>>> Thanks for the intro Justin!
> >>> >>>>
> >>> >>>> Great to be in touch Jay! I'd love to hear more about what you're
> up
> >>> >>>> to! E.g. do you have any URLs to projects/initiatives you've been
> >>> >>>> involved in?
> >>> >>>>
> >>> >>>> Also I wonder if you know who is coordinating the new open data
> >>> >>>> initiative in Kenya? We'd love to invite them to participate in
> >>> >>>> other
> >>> >>>> international activities in this area - e.g. datacatalogs.org and
> >>> >>>> our
> >>> >>>> Open Government Data Working Group.
> >>> >>>>
> >>> >>>> It would be fantastic if you might be interested in participating
> in
> >>> >>>> our second international Open Government Data Camp, this year in
> >>> >>>> Warsaw, Poland:
> >>> >>>>
> >>> >>>> http://opengovernmentdata.org/camp2011/
> >>> >>>>
> >>> >>>> If you're interested, perhaps you could put your name down here
> and
> >>> >>>> the organising team will be in touch when there is further info?
> >>> >>>>
> >>> >>>> http://bit.ly/ogdcamp2011
> >>> >>>>
> >>> >>>> All the best,
> >>> >>>>
> >>> >>>> Jonathan
> >>> >>>>
> >>> >>>>
> >>> >>>> On Wed, Jul 6, 2011 at 5:26 PM, Justin Arenstein
> >>> >>>> <justinarenstein at gmail.com> wrote:
> >>> >>>>>
> >>> >>>>> Hey again Jay,
> >>> >>>>> This is just a quick email to introduce you to Jonathan -- the
> >>> >>>>> community
> >>> >>>>> organiser at the Open Knowledge Foundation. Your open data work
> in
> >>> >>>>> Kenya
> >>> >>>>> is
> >>> >>>>> trailblazing, & really worth showcasing. I'm sure you guys will
> >>> >>>>> find
> >>> >>>>> loads
> >>> >>>>> of synergies, & ideas for galvanising other African governments
> to
> >>> >>>>> also
> >>> >>>>> open
> >>> >>>>> up.
> >>> >>>>> Jonathan, Jay is also really active in the app & wider dev
> >>> >>>>> community in
> >>> >>>>> Kenya. He was behind the really successful Pivot25 conference.
> This
> >>> >>>>> linkage
> >>> >>>>> is fantastic, 'cause it gives open data activists a link with
> >>> >>>>> developers
> >>> >>>>> who
> >>> >>>>> can turn all that data into stuff that is immediately useful to
> >>> >>>>> ordinary
> >>> >>>>> citizens.
> >>> >>>>> Have fun guys, & shout if you think we could do a collaboration
> >>> >>>>> with
> >>> >>>>> the
> >>> >>>>> new
> >>> >>>>> Kenyan chapter of www.HacksHackers.com that produces things
> similar
> >>> >>>>> to http://wheredoesmymoneygo.org/
> >>> >>>>> or http://www.wheredidmytaxdollarsgo.com/.
> >>> >>>>> I work with legacy media in Nairobi that would love to get
> >>> >>>>> involved.
> >>> >>>>> Cheers,
> >>> >>>>> Justin
> >>> >>>>>
> >>> >>>>>
> >>> >>>>>
> >>> >>>>> Justin Arenstein
> >>> >>>>>
> >>> >>>>> SA Mobile: +27-82-374-0812
> >>> >>>>> US Mobile: +1-650-336-5878
> >>> >>>>> Skype: JustinArenstein
> >>> >>>>> Twitter: JustinArenstein
> >>> >>>>> Web: http://www.linkedin.com/in/JustinArenstein
> >>> >>>>>
> >>> >>>>
> >>> >>>>
> >>> >>>>
> >>> >>>> --
> >>> >>>> Jonathan Gray
> >>> >>>>
> >>> >>>> Community Coordinator
> >>> >>>> The Open Knowledge Foundation
> >>> >>>> http://blog.okfn.org
> >>> >>>>
> >>> >>>> http://twitter.com/jwyg
> >>> >>>> http://identi.ca/jwyg
> >>> >>>
> >>> >>>
> >>> >>
> >>> >>
> >>> >>
> >>> >> --
> >>> >> Jonathan Gray
> >>> >>
> >>> >> Community Coordinator
> >>> >> The Open Knowledge Foundation
> >>> >> http://blog.okfn.org
> >>> >>
> >>> >> http://twitter.com/jwyg
> >>> >> http://identi.ca/jwyg
> >>> >
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> --
> >>> Jonathan Gray
> >>>
> >>> Community Coordinator
> >>> The Open Knowledge Foundation
> >>> http://blog.okfn.org
> >>>
> >>> http://twitter.com/jwyg
> >>> http://identi.ca/jwyg
> >>
> >
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Jonathan Gray
>
> Community Coordinator
> The Open Knowledge Foundation
> http://blog.okfn.org
>
> http://twitter.com/jwyg
> http://identi.ca/jwyg
>
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