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.