The Caribbean Open Data: "Developing The Caribbean Conference"

It's no secret that I advocate Open Data, Open Content and Open Source, so it shouldn't be surprising that I'm trying to assist in getting the word out on this conference. Open equates to more raw material (data) to innovate with, to massage, to interpret and translate. In a world where businesses regularly get exclusive access to data from governments, open data means the potential for decreased cost for services while increasing the potential for more useful services. It also means that decisions based on data are more transparent - something of importance for Open Government.

'Open', despite its friendly connotations, almost always gets resistance. Why? It threatens business models based on strangling information - information that citizens of countries pay for becomes resold to them with claimed value added. Would that there were more information out in the open, available for people to legally use without complication. Civil Society in developed nations has been making inroads for some time in these areas but it has been an uphill battle - an uphill battle which continues to grow momentum.

Why am I helping get the word out? I like Open and I know some of the organizers, having had the pleasure of working with them in the past related to other conferences and initiatives. I regret being unable to participate more actively since I am no longer in Trinidad and Tobago; it would have been fun to participate in the code sprint. I may even post some hints on the Developing Caribbean Facebook Page about tools that can be used - and, if I do have some time, I may also hint at useful ways of using the data. Of course, this will be out in the open so everyone has a fair shake if they find merits in the hints.

The Conference

On the 26th and 27th of January, 2012, The Caribbean Open Data: "Developing The Caribbean Conference" will be taking place at locations in Jamaica, Republica Dominicana and Trinidad and Tobago (locations available through the links for each country).

There's a code sprint, in each country, for available data that has been sourced months prior with each nation addressing certain key areas. In Trinidad and Tobago, as an example, this information includes fisheries information: fish types, market prices, catch & net data, methods, landing sites, etc. There's a lot more data but I haven't had the time to look into what else is available - it's all held in Junar repositories  The licensing for the data is the ODC Public Public Domain Dedication and License (PDDL). The works of the code sprinters will be made available under the AGPLv3 GNU License.

Sponsors? Oh, yes, they have sponsors. Companies that support open data and open source initiatives are implicitly giving back to the communities in which they exist - and should be supported.

Personal Perspective

I'm really glad that the conference is happening. It's long overdue and, sadly, it didn't come from the circles that I was involved in over the years despite almost a decade of 'talking about it'. There's a reason that this clip of 'Life of Brian' is so dear to me.

Back in 2004, I got invited to a conference in St. Lucia regarding Culture and ICT. It was the very first CARDICIS, dealing with the cultural and linguistic problems that artificially separate countries in the Caribbean with the very same lines inherited from the colonies of Europe. At first I thought my invitation a mistake but as we began to work on things to do, the issues of Open Content and Open Source came up. These concepts, while fairly new at the time, fit quite well with the need to be able to translate documents (copyright implicitly forbids translation) as well as develop and extend software platforms that allowed information to filter across the myelin sheaths of the Caribbean, where the nerves once ran to brains in Europe were failing the region once  Independence was gained and the brains became local governments. Or so local governments have been accused. The very neural pathways that assisted the management of colonies directly from Europe have and continue to work against the Caribbean in this regard - not the Caribbean of the drinks with umbrellas but the Caribbean of the galvanized roof.

The CARDICIS conference had plenty of action items revolving around Open Content, Open Source and how things should be done - argued over in many languages through student translators. Nothing of substance came of it. CARDICIS II and CARDICIS III, despite the effort of some of us, netted us a similar lack of results. During the same period, two Open Source conferences were done - one in Trinidad and Tobago, another in St. Lucia. There were hard working and dedicated people involved at all levels in these things, and there were some who seemed meerly intent on simply finding their next bit of funding. The former I stayed close with; the latter fell to the side as their funding took them in different directions- and, I fully expect, the same lack of results.

Meanwhile, around the world, Lawrence Lessig's 'Free Culture'. The world was beginning to change; the Caribbean less so. As the plight of Africa took precedence for funding the Caribbean ICT community effectively went to ground. Mailing lists that were once full of activism became broadcast areas for government agencies and NGOs to brag to themselves about what they were doing, bragging of how much money was being spent and producing little in the way of results. I expect this remains to this day but I cannot say; I am far removed from such things. 'Jaded' might be a descriptive word; the feeling runs deeper still - yet there is always hope.

This conference demonstrates that hope, and it promises to make progress that much more concrete in a region that needs it in ways that can be shared by all of mankind through proper licensing.

A hat tip to all my friends who are involved, and a hat tip to those who have worked toward this directly and indirectly over the years.