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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Grassroots journalists in Kenya face an uphill battle. In counties like Kilifi, reporters navigate underfunded newsrooms, precarious contracts, limited access to public data, and political pressures that shape which stories reach the public. Investigative journalism, which shines a light on accountability, innovation, and community agency, is often impossible under these conditions. The narratives that dominate…
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If you were to count every hour spent preparing meals, cleaning homes, tending to children, or caring for the elderly, how much of the economy would that be worth? For decades, the daily rhythm of unpaid work, mostly done by women, was invisible in national statistics. Time-use surveys started as simple diaries of how people…
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Citizens in Kilifi met with their Governor and his cabinet to present their needs - with data.
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Every year on 15th September, the world pauses to mark the International Day of Democracy, a day to reflect on the state of democracy and celebrate the people and institutions working to uphold it. This year, as the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF) celebrates 20 years of advancing democratic values, UN Secretary-General António Guterres reminded…
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In 2019, Kenya launched the first Kenya Strategy for the Development of Statistics (KSDS I) – our first attempt to organise how the nation produces, manages, and uses official statistics. It promised four things: a stronger national data system, better quality, smarter investments in people and technology, and wider use of data by citizens. Six…
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The Devolution Conference 2025 convened in Homa Bay marked a key milestone in Kenya’s political and development calendar. It was a moment to reflect on over 12 years of county-level transparency since the 2013 Constitution. For us at Open Institute, it marked more than a decade of collaborating with counties to build open, responsive institutions…
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Over the past year, Kilifi County has emerged as a shining example of how communities, civil society, and government can come together to use data for meaningful change. With support from the Open Institute and through partnerships with youth-led community-based organisations, such as Kilifi Youth Assembly (KIYA) and the Maono changemaker network, citizens in Kilifi…
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What happens when people are invisible in the numbers? When communities are omitted from datasets that shape national policy? When stories that are rich, complex, urgent are reduced to a footnote or not recorded at all? In Kenya, where 2.2% of the population — over 1 million people — are recorded as having a disability,…
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By Florence Syevuo and Al Kags At a recent breakfast gathering in Nairobi, we asked each person who walked into the room to take a single puzzle piece. No explanation. No picture of the final image. Just that small fragment, handed over with a quiet challenge. As the morning unfolded, something wonderful happened. Strangers began…
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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!
