Celebration of Open Data Day in the Democratic republic of Congo

Transparency and Accountability in the management of DRC’s Extractive Sector: the role of Open Data

The Open Data Initiative of the Democratic Republic of Congo joined the world to celebrate its first ever Open Data Day on 4th March in Kinshasa.

In a conference style, the event brought together more than 50 participants with varying backgrounds who are interested in open data and the impact it can have on the development of the democratic republic of Congo. The participants who came to the event included representatives from government, Parliamentarians, researchers from universities, students, entrepreneurs ,innovators, etc.  

DRCongo Open Data initiative team welcome participants in the March 4,2017 Open data day in Kinshasa

The event centered on discussions on how open data can contribute to achieving  the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 in the DRC.

There was also discussions on  how open data can contribute to enhancing transparency and accountability in the extractive industries in the democratic republic of Congo. For example, the discussion on Open Data and the Extractive sector focused on the availability and state of data  on revenue from mining, petroleum, etc. as well as the amount of tax extractive companies pay to the government and how the money is spent, etc.

Participants  at Open Data Day in  democratic republic of Congo, March 4, 2017

The event was led by 15 speakers at various sessions of the conference who made visual and oral presentations on open data to help participants understand open data and how open data can contribute to the development of the democratic republic of Congo. Through questions and responses, participants have built skills and knowledge on open data. Several participants commented on the Open Data Day in the democratic republic of Congo.

Mr Mayambo, a  student at the University of Kinshasa said that this day allowed him to have a good understanding of open data and how open data is important to enhance accountability and transparency in different  fields of activities, especially in extractive industries areas.

The Open Data Initiative team received several recommendations from the participants and plans to call on the DRC government with those recommendations so as to promote open data in the country.   Thanks to the grant from OKFN and HIVOS, the Open Data Day celebrated on March 4, 2017 in the democratic republic of Congo  was successful and helped to promote the importance of open data. Our analysis has led us to conclude that many people in the democratic republic of congo do not yet know the open data and their importance. Therefore, we will work to strengthen the promotion of open data through a strong marketing campaigns on TV, radio,news papers, face-to-face campaigns, social media such as Facebook pages, youtube, twitter and improve our participation in major conferences on IT and data at national level, particularly in the provinces. The DRCongo Open Data Initiative has decided to organize the next Open Data Day on March 4, 2018 in Lubumbashi.