Nepal’s Open Data Day 2019

Saturday 2 March 2019 is International Open Data Day. This day is celebrated by groups all over the world, bringing people together in local events to discuss, work with and champion open data, and this year will see the largest number of celebrations so far in Nepal.

Open Data Day has been celebrated in Nepal since 2012 through hackathons, high-level panel discussions, collaborative mapping exercises, lightening talks, project showcasing, policy discussions, infographic exhibitions, data literacy workshops, and lots more. The day is an opportunity to showcase the benefits of open data and encourage improvements in the sharing and use of data for Nepal’s development.  Through local events and activities the concept of open data can be taken to new audiences, exciting new data innovations can be planned and open data policies can be discussed. Open Data Day is also an opportunity for organisations working on data, development, innovation, mapping, transparency, accountability, and governance to showcase their leadership and data initiatives.

This year the Data for Development in Nepal Program is supporting the following organisations to deliver events that mark open data day:

• Bikas Udhyami – Bikas Udhyami are taking their engaging Nepal In Data infographics exhibition on tour to the provincial hubs of Hetauda, Itahari and Danusha. This will include specially designed data infographics about local development issues in these provinces. Bikas Udhayami will also be hosting an interactive public event on March 2 in Hetauda with presentations, panel discussions and debate on open data. For more information please click here.
• Nepal Institute of Research and Communications (NIRC) – NIRC will be taking Open Data Day to Damak Municipality where they will run a workshop on data literacy, and an intensive support session to help youth to develop data-based infographics on local issues. Following this the data infographics will be displayed at a public poster exhibition and a policy dialogue workshop conducted with local government representatives to grow understanding and interest in data. For more information please click here.
• Open Knowledge Nepal – Open Knowledge Nepal will be running a Data Expedition in Dang to “map unchartered territory, discover hidden stories and solve unsolved mysteries in the land of data”. Participants will work with data to address development issues in their local communities. For more information please click here.
• Robotics Association of Nepal (RAN) – RAN will be conducting a series of interactive activities in Pokhara and Biratnagar to mark Open Data Day, focused on the role of open data and machine learning in the provision of public services. This will include a hackathon, panel discussion and machine learning competition. For more information please click here and here
• Utopia – Utopia will be running a two day “Data and the City Design Challenge” in collaboration with partner organisations working in the field of urban development. This event aims to stimulate debate and action around the use of data to address urban challenges and will include public panel discussions and voting to select wining prototypes. The event will take place on 14-15 March. For more information please click here.
• Youth Innovation (YI) Lab with Naxa – YI Lab and Naxa are marking Open Data Day with their collaborative “Lights On” 10-day event. Through this event, data of 10,000 streetlights in the Kathmandu Valley will be mapped and launched on 2^nd March at an event aimed at opening up discussions on the significance of public utilities mapping for overcoming contemporary urban challenges. For more information please click here.

These events are supported by the Data for Development in Nepal Program which is implemented by The Asia Foundation in partnership with Development Initiatives with funding from UK Aid. Open Data Day is also being celebrated via a series of events organised by the Susasan Program of CECI-Canada, Young Innovations and Freedom Forum, and an event organised by Kathmandu Living Labs.

For more information about Open Data Day events in Nepal please see the international Open Data Day calendar.

To see a short video of celebrations from Open Data Day 2018 please see below.