There is a quiet disconnect in development data that lies between where data is collected, who it serves, and whether it ever makes its way back to the communities that generated it in the first place. Across East Africa, that disconnect is starting to close. Civil society organisations, county governments, data journalists, and community members…
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In Kiswahili, maono means vision. It is also the name of one of the projects closest to our heart at the Open Institute; a programme built around a simple belief: that community-based organisations are not at the bottom of the development pyramid, but the closest point in the system to the citizens it serves. Across…
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The brown envelope has its own language and names. Every journalist in Kenya knows it. Za kabej. Mshiko. Facilitation. Kakitu. Za macho. Niko na njaa. Jua ni kali. Za uji. The words shift, the envelope stays the same. The brown envelope has names in every language, every newsroom, every city, county and across the country,…
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By The Open Institute | 19 May 2026 Kenyans woke up this week to near-empty roads and stranded commuters. On Monday, 18 May 2026, a nationwide transport strike brought cities to a standstill. Four people were killedand more than 30 injured as protests erupted across several towns. A further 348 people were arrested. The immediate…
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Across Africa, researchers are producing credible, rigorous, and often urgent findings. Governments are making decisions without them. This is not a research problem. It is a power problem, a communication problem, and an honest reckoning with who the evidence is actually made for. There is a version of this conversation that is easy and safe…
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After twelve years at the helm, Al Kags has left the role of Executive Director of the Open Institute. This is in accordance with the organisation’s ongoing succession planning framework. Co-founder Jay Bhalla has been appointed Interim Executive Director and will lead the organisation through this period while a search for a new Executive Director…
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Across many communities, data is constantly being collected about people’s needs, challenges, and lived realities. Yet, the very communities represented in this data are often excluded from understanding, managing, or using it meaningfully. Evidence Mkononi is a project led by Furaha, our Community Manager at Maono Space, under the Data Values Advocate Programme and a…
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Artificial Intelligence is no longer a distant concept, it is already shaping how we work, learn, and make decisions every day. Yet for many communities, especially in underserved and remote areas, AI still feels out of reach. It is often seen as complex, technical, and disconnected from everyday realities. So we asked ourselves a simple…
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By Esther Njagi, Open Institute and Sharlene Muthuri, Amnesty International Kenya Amnesty International Kenya (AIK) and Open Institute (OI) have collaborated since 2020 to advance data governance, data protection, and privacy rights across Kenya and the wider region. Our joint work bridges the gap between data for development and data for human rights, demonstrating that…
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Next week, policymakers, technologists, regulators, journalists, civil society leaders, and innovators will gather in Nairobi for the East Africa Data Governance Conference 2026. Over two days, participants from across the region will engage in one central question: How can East Africa advance innovation and digital transformation while safeguarding rights, trust, and accountability? This year’s theme, “Navigating Duality in…
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📅 Dates: November 25 & 26, 2024
📍 Location: Nairobi, kenya
Unlock the future of data governance with industry leaders, insightful sessions, and networking opportunities!
