[Spotlight] From principles to action
Building a safe space to champion openness
by Flor Serale, IWG co-chair, Digital rights consultant at UN-Habitat
A few weeks ago I was conducting an interview with a public sector official working on data projects and referred to data as a“mythical creature”; everyone talks about it, but only a few actually know how to use it to solve problems. This quote came at the moment I was taking the decision to step down as the ODC Implementation Working Group’s Civil Society Co-Chair. But then I realized that demystifying open data has been my north throughout my career working in open data.
Starting as a Co-chair in the middle of the pandemic: This is fine!
I was still living in Washington DC and working for the Inter-American Development Bank when I was asked if I would like to be the next IWG Co-chair. I must admit I was super scared to take this role, but at the same time I needed to find a safe space to discuss challenges and blockers of the open data agenda — those same challenges that COVID-19 revealed 1 month later.
So, there I was three years ago in Buenos Aires’ never-ending lockdown hosting one of our first monthly meetings, with all the help and support from Paul Stone, former IWG Government Co-Chair, Agus, Nati, Ania and Cat. Despite my bad wi-fi connection, I began to realise the value of having this community: being present even if socially distanced and having honest conversations on how to open up with a purpose and finding the right balance with privacy, access to information and governance.
Over the past three years, the IWG has grown in size, diversity of members and topics, and is positioning itself as a space to rethink our data agenda, break silos, embrace openness while protecting data rights towards re-balancing power dynamics exacerbated by technologies such as AI. We hosted sessions that range from data for climate action, data governance, ethics and data use for humanitarian action. In every meeting we had the chance to share our challenges, and find support from others that have already addressed them.
In a world where data and collective intelligence are needed to address complex public challenges, the ODC has an extremely important role in connecting actors from many sectors across the data community, inspiring ideas and enabling conversations. As Nati sometimes says: “we not only need data interoperability: we need people interoperability”. It has been a great responsibility but also an honor to help co-create and grow this community of practice.
About the IWG
The IWG focuses on a monthly meeting around a specific topic. With an introduction by a member of the group or external guests, we then move discussions where knowledge and experiences are shared. We have also hosted meetups and Project Fairs, so everyone has the chance to network and talk about their own work. Since last year, we have also live interpretation to Spanish, and we have also hosted meetings in other time zones (as the last Open Data House sessions).
The Agenda and topics are co-designed by IWG members and an annual action plan is defined yearly to define our commitments. Read our 2023 Action Plan to check our agenda and plans for this year.
The IWG members are a great mix of ODC government adopters from national and local governments, academics, researchers and champions from civil society organizations. They are real-world trailblazers defending the open data agenda in their own work.
The monthly meetings and engagements are co-organized with a Government Co-Chair. During my three years in the IWG, I had the privilege to work with Paul, Darine and Wilfreda, extraordinary data stewards opening up data and spaces in the public sector.
Lastly, the IWG is supported by the ODC brilliant team! Nati, Mechi, Cat and Rena are always behind each meeting, reaching out to their own networks and making sure we have an amazing list of panelists and case studies. I am extremely grateful for their patience, knowledge and support.
We do not only need to open data: we need to open up spaces
After a lot of reflection, I’ve decided to step down as an IWG Co-Chair. Why? It is time to give the opportunity to another data champion to become co-chair. I am also more involved in digital rights now, which has a lot to do with open data but think I need to leave a space for someone working on this topic more closely. I am confident we will continue working and collaborating together, as openness and data rights are also digital rights!
These past three years have been incredibly insightful, both from a professional and personal side. I had the privilege of being part of a community of open data adopters and champions from whom I learned how to practically implement the ODC principles. I had the opportunity to plan our engagements in the group to build an inclusive and sustainable network, and rethink how we could build a safe space to share our challenges while strengthening the community.
On a personal level, this opportunity helped me gain self-confidence on my career path, and I also believe it has been a platform that gave me the chance to explore opportunities in organizations such as the ODI and later on the UN.
I wanted to say a big GRACIAS TOTALES! To ODC, the IWG members and Co-Chairs!
Willing to contribute towards strengthening this community?
If you:
- believe in community and collaboration to multiply the value and impact of open data and open government initiatives for all
- work in a civil society organization as a data steward in the fields of open data, open government, data governance and/or digital rights
- are willing to dedicate a few hours a month on planning, moderating meetings and writing summary blogs
— then we want you as our next IWG Co-chair!
To apply, please send out a background letter outlining why that should be you to recruitment@opendatacharter.org, and an ODC member will contact you. You can also reach out to me directly and we can book a quick chat!
Watch our last Implementation Working Group session here.
