"Let's talk about Data"

“Digital technologies have changed our world perhaps most significantly in how we think about data”

- David Rogers (2016, p.4)

On the 22nd of August the CoLab hosted a Roundtable Discussion on the concept of DATA. Data is one of the key drivers of digital transformation and innovation, but it is a complex and multi-dimensional concept with differing perspectives often adding to the complexity of unlocking its value.

Roundtable Panel

Roundtable Panel

DataBuzz launch in Belgium

Dr Craffert

Participants in the Discussion included a delegation from Belgium

• Prof Leo van Audenhove (VUB/imec-SMIT) who presented on Data and Media Literacy

• Prof Wendy van den Broeck (VUB/imec-SMIT) who presented on the DataBuzz project

• Dr Ilse Marien (VUB/imec-SMIT) who presented on various open data and digital inclusion programs they are involved in various cities in Flanders, Belgium.

• Prof Lieven De Marez (UGENT/imec-MICT) who presented on their tools and methods of measuring aspects of digital inclusion and innovation (including the imec.digimeter and MobileDNA projects)

South African Panel members included

• Prof Renette Blignaut (UWC/Statistics and Population Studies)

• Neil Hoorn (City of Cape Town Open Data project)

• Wesley Diphoko (IEEE, Chair: Open Data Standards project in South Africa).

Various critical questions surfaced during the course of the deliberations and active participation from the floor ensured a variety of perspectives. Issues deliberated included:

• The various interfaces (nature of relationships) between between government, business, civil society and academia

• What conversation should become visible in the public domain?

• How do we need to think (act) about data as academic/research institutions and as government; what about the research focus?

• Skilling - requirements, challenges and collaboration

Attendees also included various units of the PGWC Training Institute, DEDAT, CoCT, Academia from various universities and post-graduates students.

On a very pragmatic level, the current national and provincial discourse requires of the CoLab partnership to give input into the thinking-process of senior government officials around data. Although the session, as a kick-off conversation, was necessarily broad we reached our mutual goal of sensitisation in terms of nuancing potential pitfalls, opportunities and challenges in view of phrasing guiding principles for facilitating a responsible, fair, ethical and inclusive approach.