Author: rayna

"Building capacity and creating local successful scalable models are key priorities in which synergy can help optimise the process. Visualising success helps raise awareness in a nicely summarised fashion." Read more insights from Palestinian independant researcher and data scientist Abed Khooli. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] The pyramids in Giza, Egypt.…

What is the link between data and the famous Egyptian puppet operetta El-Leila El-Kebira (The Big Night)? As part of the Data-Driven Innovation week of activities, the Information Technology Institute (ITI) is organising an innovative exhibition. It has one main goal: enable you to learn more about Big Data... through the…

Last week, we were telling you about the most exciting of events at this beginning of 2016: the Data-Driven Innovation in MENA series of workshops. All of us, be it Open MENA, be it at the IDRC, at WebRadar.me and elsewhere, have been hard at work fine-tuning the last details…

Open MENA and InfoTimes have decided to join forces and work together. Our joint efforts will focus on raising awareness about data journalism within MENA newsrooms as well as providing tailored training. Each of our organisations has had its way of spreading the concept of data-driven journalism in the Middle…

One of the more complicated, mostly unresolved issues facing most commons is how to assure their independence when the dominant systems of finance, banking, and money are so hostile to commoning. How can commoners meet their needs without replicating (perhaps in only modestly less harmful ways) the structural problems of…

Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) office in Cairo is organising an exciting set of activities focused on data-driven innovation and digital entrepreneurship later in this month. Taking place between 18 and 23 February 2016 and hosted by Cairo University, the event is a part of the IDRC’s important project…

Freshly released case studies seek to provide a more nuanced understanding of the processes and factors behind the use and impact of open data worldwide. Learn more and explore them at Open Data's Impact. Global commitments to and enthusiasm for open data are undoubtful. No matter which event you attend,…

We are in for 2016: Welcome and thanks. We have been busy doing research on the opportunities the data revolution provides for the MENA region and joining the freshly launched Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data to continue and extend work in that domain. We are also launching a call for…

The Open Knowledge’s Global Open Data Index 2015 has just been released; it covers 122 countries, which is 25 new ones from 2014. "Researchers and professionals interested in Open Data can still use the 2015 Index, but with caution. The only correct statement that I found is that “This year’s Index…

The Wikipedia photo contest around cultural heritage is open! Wiki Loves Monuments is a public photo competition around cultural heritage monuments, organised by Wikipedia/Wikimedia chapters and groups. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Participating countries to Wiki Loves Monuments 2015[/caption] This year again, different MENA countries participate: Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia along with four others…

This is the second article of our short series examining intellectual property frameworks in the Middle East and North Africa. These laws permit or prohibit free, open and lawful sharing of information, data and creative works. In this second piece, we center on the copyright for books and photographs. You…

The Middle East and North Africa countries trail in involvement with the data revolution. A recent workshop organised in Cairo  addressed how we can change that. [embed]https://twitter.com/OpenMENA/status/607535762544951296[/embed] In early June, Open MENA went to Cairo. The IDRC (International Development Research Centre) partners with the Access to Knowledge for Development program (A2K4D) at the American…

A narrow interpretation of what’s sacred limits efforts to protect natural treasures. Because traditional cultures do not privately own land or keep written documentation of spiritual practices, it is difficult to legally prove the religious significance of their places of worship. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="785"] Bear Butte, sacred to 30 Indian…

This is the inaugural article of a short series examining intellectual property frameworks in the Middle East and North Africa. These laws permit or prohibit free, open and lawful sharing of information, data and creative works. In this first piece, we center on the public domain. According to most intellectual…

The Middle East and North Africa region continues to face multiple and complex emergency situations on an unprecedented scale, that are likely to pose further overwhelming challenges in 2015. This region is also one of origin, destination and transit of refugees and migrants. Many of those caught up in mixed…

Government budgets are at the core of development. It is the government’s most powerful economic tool to meet the needs of its people, especially those who are poor and marginalized. Whether you are interested in health, education, the environment, or pensions, the most well-meaning public policy has little impact on…

LIBER (the Association of European Research Libraries) brought global experts together to draft a collective statement on access to facts and ideas in the digital age. This is how the Hague Declaration on Knowledge Discovery in the Digital Age was released. In a nutshell, the Declaration calls for rehabilitating the…

A recent research attempted to assess whether Open Government Partnership (OGP) members perform better than non-members in terms of openness and accountability. Here we focus on the MENA states, and elaborate on the OGP relevance for the region. The Open Government Partnership (OGP) is an international platform launched in 2011,…