Global Goals Week 2022 – it’s time to #Act4SDGs differently
Today marks the start of the Global Goals Week 2022, a shared commitment between more than 170 partners in civil society, business, academia, and the
Author: Open Institute
Congratulations, Senator Crystal Asige
Image Credit Crystal Asige, our Ability Programme’s lead, has officially been gazetted as a Senator – representing persons living with disabilities in the Kenya Senate.
Reflections on the Data Governance Programme, 2 years on
Two years on, we are reflecting on what our joint data governance programme has achieved. Read, and let’s engage!
Nandi County signs MOU to establish Data Desk
Yesterday marked a great milestone in our Open County programme as we signed an MOU with Nandi County, committing ourselves to establishing a Data Desk
The Data Leaders Fellowship Programme is underway
We are very excited that the Data Leaders’ Fellowship Programme is now underway, as 10 Chief Officers in charge of Economic Planning got together in
Through the lens of a woman film-maker at OI
I am told, I am the first woman to get inside a gold mine in Vihiga county, Kenya. In many parts of the world, women are not allowed to go anywhere near a mine because it’s believed that mining sites are men’s territories, so women are responsible for removing gold from the soil after the actual mining process. Women are kept away from the mine shafts; dark, dusty, claustrophobia-inducing holes that usually go almost a Kilometre into the earth. “It is not safe for a woman to go down there. It is just not done.”
The Truth About Remote Working
Loise Mboo, Wellness Director at the Open Institute reflects on our experience as a remote working organisation 5 months in.
Open Data and Personal Data Protection – Al Kags on Ole Law Podcast
Our Executive Director, Al Kags, was featured on the Ole Law Podcast where the issues of active citizenship and responsive governments – our main mandate as an organisation – were discussed.
Data protection and open government – are these compatible tenets in the Kenyan context?
Open government is an inclusive and participatory approach to governance that allows citizens to be involved in the formulation and eventual implementation of public policies, and has been recognized as a catalyst for democracy and inclusivity in sustainable growth. Government is open when it follows the principles of transparency, accountability and participation; key initiatives include open data, public participation, open contracting, open parliament, among others.
WhatsApp’s new Terms & Conditions: What they mean to us
Eight years after it gained popularity in Kenya, WhatsApp is now not only owned by Facebook but has more features added to it making it more appealing for masses and increasing its penetration in most countries worldwide. With the new ownership came new terms and conditions in 2012 which most users agreed to without reading. A new set of terms and conditions were unveiled by the company early this year which caused quite a stir online. Data protection experts, governments and civil societies went up in arms with the new terms and the extent in which individual and business data is collected from the platform.
At the Open Institute, we convened an informal lunch time chat to discuss the new terms and conditions and to try and explain what the impact of them would be to the everyday citizen.