On the occasion of the International Open Data Day (March 6, 2021), Open Knowledge Nepal organized a day-long ‘Datathon’ in Tulsipur Dang, where in-total 30 participants joined the event to learn about open data, its importance, and applications. The event was organized at Munal Pahuna Ghar, Tulsipur, Dang in partnership with the Tulsipur Sub-Metropolitan City Office, National Youth Council – Dang Chapter and Green Foundation Nepal.

The intended goal of the event was

• To accelerate data momentum at the local level.
• To Inform and share the importance of valuable datasets.
• To Identify the data availability gaps at the local level.
• To enhance capacity development and open data advocacy.

The event officially started at 10 AM with a short introduction of open data day and participants. A day-long event consisted of a series of activities, where the team of Open Knowledge Nepal delivered a series of presentations including the introduction of open data, history, progress, principles, benefits and its core values. In the next session, participants worked in teams to brainstorm potential ideas for tackling local issues using open data, search the available source of datasets and present the project’s idea for further incubation with the help of seed money under the mentorship of the organizing team. 3 project ideas were selected to receive seed money of Rs. 10,000/- each, to encourage effective implementation. In-between the brainstorming sessions, a team of Green Foundation Nepal also led the fun networking session.

The selected group projects are

• Group 3: अव्यवस्थित बजार (Unplanned urbanization)

Develop the detailed city map and hang the printed flex copies in the crowded areas of the city. Provide copies of the developed map to the Sub-Metropolitan City office.

• Group 4: Unemployment

Organize a training event by inviting the youths and experts working in the field of agriculture and forestry in Tulsipur Sub-Metropolitan City.

• Group 5: Child Labor

Curate the scholarship data provided by the government and non-government entities working in Tulsipur to the marginalized and bright students. Disseminate the database to the general public of Tulsipur Sub-Metropolitan City.

Activities will be based on the Open Knowledge Nepal – Open Data 100 module and participants used the brainstorming canvas to develop and present their project ideas.

Participants and reach

Intotal 35 participants joined the event, including the organizing team. Out of which 3 of them were the representative of Open Knowledge Nepal, who traveled from Kathmandu to facilitate the event. 2 participants were the representative of the local coordinating organization and 2 participants represented the Tulsipur Sub-Metropolitan City office, including the mayor of the city.

Feedback

Despite being the first open data event organized at Tulsipur, we believe overall the event definitely created an open data momentum amongst the youths of Tulsipur, Dang. Participants deeply got involved in the brainstorming activities and were amazed to see how they can use data to enhance the work they were doing at the community level. Most of them requested to organize a long length event of 3 to 4 days, rather than keep it short for one day. Also, having a tailored training module would make a lasting impact in the longer context.

Future plans

The selection of the three projects for the further incubation has been made so, for the initial and immediate steps we will work with our local partner to provide them with seed money of Rs. 10,000/- each and mentor them for the successful implementation. Since this was the first open data event organized in Tulsipur, Dang by any organization, most of the participants requested to organize the event related to open data in a frequent interval, and shared it will be helpful if the content is localized. We as an organizing team will work forward in localizing and curating the content which best fits for the local context (for the cities like Tulsipur) and organize similar kinds of events to sensitize the youths in the near future, so that we can capitalize the momentum.

Event photos

More event photos can be accessed here.