View source for OpenData - DatosAbiertos.org - Open Data in the developing world?

Facilitated by Evan Henshaw-Plath, protest.net
= Session Description =
Discussing a project to create a portal of open data for Latin America. DatosAbiertos.org is a work in progress to adapt the sunlight foundation's national data catalog to publish and track open data in Uruguay and Argentina.

= Session Notes =
* I've been scraping government data, and the government agencies are using my data sets because I release it as a spreadsheet and it's easier that using their databases
* Law in SF requiring meta data to be released with all data sets
* Building datasets from journalists. Things that they have dug up rather than relying on governments
* In south america, free software movement is very strong
** Many governments have laws requiring them to use open source software, or prefer it
** They have to justify using not-free software
** A lot of it is based on nationalist or anti-imperialist arguments
* In the first world, the dialog has been more about open data
* Recently, a number of activists have gotten open data laws passed
** But there is no implementation
** No definition of what "release" means
* Individual sys admins and programmers have been taking data they have access to and uploading it
* There is data which geocoded every tree in Montevideo. Exact location and type of tree
* There is an agency in Montevideo that tracks prices of every product sold in supermarkets. 
** Rabble will post the link
* Sunlight foundation made a catalog: National Data Catalog 
** Adapted it for South America
** It took two people two months
** If you wanted to do it again it would probably take a week
* Where is the best level to get this data? Municipal? State?
** In Latin America, probably municipal because it's easier to connect to people
** It really depends on the country
* Normalizing data is a big issue. Even internally to an agency.
* There is common ID systems for contractors
* The mapping agency, the first thing they release were their maps as pdfs. But they they followed up with a posgis data dump
* Because there is a Value Added Tax, each company has a unique ID
* Each person has an ID number (from residents to passports). Having dictatorships are good for tracking people. 
** When you don't have concerns about privacy, it's great for unique ids and tracking people
* Semantic media wiki
* Crowdsourcing landlord data in New York
** Have people submit who they send their rent check to
* The Guardian in the UK has been doing a lot of work to collect and release data
* Geocoding
* Run your own geocoder
** Called Geocoder
** It's on Github
* Once you get the data out, who are your allies to actually push it for application?
** In Uruguay, we work with two groups. Friends of the Earth started daily newspaper. They added the concept of home delivery which didn't exist before.
* There is a difference between having data and open licensed
** Wikileaks. The data is there but if you use it the pentagon might not be happy
** In Uruguay, we've had the mapping data for years because the techies were happy to give it to their friends. But once the laws changed it was possible
* Each country in Latin America is different. But there are some general trends
* In Argentina, it's clear that the government data that is released on the economy is totally fake
* In Uruguay, there release their entire dataset, so it's easy to check the inflation rate
* If you say inflation is based on only locally produced products, it looks like inflation is much lower than reality
* Brazil has fantastic laws
** They are about to pass a low on internet and intellectual freedoms. 
** Most laws say what you can't do, they are pushing a really forward set of laws
* For crisis situations, people will go to Geo Eyes (who have a satellite)
* Google's satellite imagery is freely available to build derivative works
* Eventually the world bank took higher res imagery of Haiti, and that's what
* Open Areal Map project
** Helping folks build their own drones (there is a group in the Bay Area doing this)
* Look up Chris Anderson and Areal Drones
** The Gulf after the oil spill
** All the plans and details are open
* Sometimes getting someone to help you write a Freedom of Information Act request is the best assistance
* Every Block
* Open Block
* Often the data is there, but it is being sold to commercial interests
** Lobbyists wanting to buy legislative data for example
* Often the people in organizations who actually deal with the data every day are techies and want the data to get out
** They can be big allies
* In Montevideo, a random person built a bus mapping site. Only then did the city finally build their own. But they were resisting that
* Outside of the US, arguing that this is better for outside investment is a good way to convince people to open their data
* Encouraging agencies to provide a contact list and a basic inventory of what data they have
* DataSF: The site for the release of data sets from the city of SF
* In New York, the mayor did a one time big data dump
** There was no guarantee of continued data
** It totally derailed the open data legislation
* Commercial use clauses are a huge problem
** It seriously restricts what you can do with it. Even just using google ads to pay for your server
** Share alike
* Open Knowledge foundation
* Creative Commons has a data license


== Summary ==

* Who you talk to about opening up data, every country and place is different. 
* In south america, free software and open data is very strong
** A lot of it is based on nationalist or anti-imperialist arguments
* Many places including the US, there are issues of normalizing data
* But in some parts of South America, each person has an ID number (that follows you from resident papers to passports). 
** It turns out having dictatorships are good for structured data. 
* Open data projects and transparency are hot right now. It's seen as forward and progressive for government agencies. Now is a good time to push for data you want.
* Often the nerds inside organizations who actually deal with the data every day want the data to get out
* Brazil has an internet rights law in the pipeline that is really forward thinking. If you are doing legislative work take a look.