Author: rayna
A Recipe for Data-Driven Innovation in MENA
"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.…
Data Love from MENA: Activities for Open Data Day 2016 #ODD16
This year’s Open Data Day is on 5 March. To celebrate and continue using open data, we have joined forces with celebrated people from the region. And here are the ideas we are up to -- join us and share the #datalove at #odd16! The 5-minute Data Pitch The Access…
Everything you always wanted to know about Egyptian folklore and data
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…
Ready, Steady, Go: #ddiMENA Is Here!
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…
Data Journalism in MENA? Open MENA Partners with InfoTimes
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…
Democratic Money and Capital for the Commons
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…
Data-Driven Innovation in MENA: The Way Forward
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…
19 Studies on Open Data’s Impact Worldwide
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,…
Happy New Year! Volunteer and Power Open MENA
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…
Why Open Knowledge’s Global Open Data Index 2015 Is a Failure
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…
Wiki Loves Monuments — And Your Photos!
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…
When do books and photographs enter the public domain?
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…
A Data Revolution in the Middle East and North Africa
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…
Saving the World’s Holy Places
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…
Sharing is caring. Then why do so few know about the public domain?
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 place(s) to be: events curated for you by Open MENA
The coming months will be rich in events and opportunities to connect. We therefore decided to start curating an events list. The best choice for doing so is OpenAgenda: a schedule platform where all the data you submit is actually open data: OpenAgenda offers a complete tool, promotes an open…
Refugees Flows
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…
Opening up Budgets in MENA
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…
A Declaration to Improve Knowledge Creation in the Digital Age
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…
Are Open Government Partnership members more open than non-members?
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,…