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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Public Participation Bill 2025 When Parliament tabled the Public Participation Bill, 2025, we welcomed it. At last, there’s a serious effort to build structure around a practice that has too often been treated as symbolic. Public participation is not just a constitutional obligation—it’s the soul of democracy. But for too long, the way it’s been…
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We propose ten principles for guiding the reimagination of digital and data infrastructure. The funding freezes and project shutdowns we are now witnessing across Africa’s public digital infrastructure are not just unfortunate side effects of shifting geopolitics. They are symptoms of a system designed with fundamental weaknesses. And those weaknesses have long been known: dependency…
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Last week, we launched a five-month programme in partnership with AFJ-K to engage journalists on how they can promote alternative narratives. It was clear from the first session that this is not just another training. Journalists didn’t just learn about investigative reporting; they challenged, uncovered, and reimagined storytelling. They explored the ethics of reporting, the…
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In recent years, the global civic space has been shrinking at an alarming rate. Governments are cutting budgets, laying off staff, and scaling back initiatives that support openness, transparency and accountability. At the same time, restrictions on civil society, the media, and digital freedoms are making it harder for citizens to access information, engage with…
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The East Africa Data Governance took place on 26th and 27th February 2025, calling for collaboration to advance data governance in East Africa.
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The Annual Multistakeholder Conference on SDGs Implementation provided a pivotal moment for reflection as the 2030 deadline looms. Centred on the theme “Solutions to Leapfrog SDG Implementation in the Last Stretch to 2030,” the event brought together a diverse group of stakeholders—government representatives, civil society, grassroots organisations, and private sector leaders—to address a critical question:…
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What it takes to Transform Governance Through Data Systems in our experience. Statistical systems—whether from government agencies or non-state actors—form the backbone of a democratic society’s information ecosystem. These systems generate the essential data that shapes economic policies, demographic strategies, and decisions on social and environmental issues. Reliable and accessible data is not merely a…
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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!
