By Jeremy de Beer and Meghan Blom
(Picture: A farmer in Kenya, courtesy of CIAT and GODAN.)
Open agricultural and nutritional data can play a vital role in addressing global challenges of food insecurity, health crises, climate change, and poverty.
At the 2016 Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition (GODAN) Summit, Professor Jeremy de Beer is presenting the findings of his study, Ownership of Open Data: Governance Options for Agriculture and Nutrition. The presentation will encourage a discussion about open data ownership rights and the differing social, technical, and legal mechanisms that influence how data can be owned and made open.
This pathbreaking new study highlights the legal and policy frameworks for governing open data ownership as well as the role ownership plays in augmenting the social and ethical challenges faced by specific groups, particularly small-holder farmers. “Ownership rights, or the lack thereof, are a major factor in the power dynamics of open data for agriculture and nutrition,” writes Professor de Beer.
The 2016 GODAN Summit, which takes place the 15th – 16th of September in New York city, is the largest event ever dedicated to open data and agriculture. The summit will be bringing together world leaders and experts, academics, farmers, and public and private organizations to showcase the impact and potential of open data on agriculture. The goal of the summit is to encourage the opening and use of open agricultural and nutritional data as a strategy to address the challenges of global hunger.
Open AIR’s work on open data-driven innovation connects with several important new projects and events. Open AIR Research Fellow Meghan Blom recently visited the Global Institute for Food Security to explore how open agricultural and nutritional data impacts the developing world. Open AIR Research Fellow Jeremy Baarbé will be representing Open AIR at the International Open Data Conference (IDOC), being held in Madrid on October 6th & 7th. This conference will build on the relationships and momentum cultivated at the GODAN Summit, as key stakeholders will have another opportunity to further examine, share, and debate open data solutions, while also establishing an international partnership on open data.
Interested in learning more about Professor de Beer’s Study Ownership of Open Data? Just click here for the study. More information on Professor de Beer’s presentation can also be found here: http://summit.godan.info/schedule/
Can’t attend but still want to listen in to the presentations at the GODAN Summit? Portions of the event will be live at http://summit.godan.info/. We will also be live tweeting from the event, follow on twitter at #GODANSummit2016.
