BRIDGE joins new open data project

9 October 2014

On Friday 10 October, the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) will launch the Oriel Open Knowledge Hub at the Open Development Camp 2014 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. IDS will be hosting a panel discussion asking participants to focus on the present realities of open content in the field of international development, including the challenges of operating in a multilingual and multi genre world.

The Hub is a free online service which will enable development practitioners and intermediaries to share, extract and repurpose development content in whatever way best suits their audiences and contexts. BRIDGE will be one of the services contributing to the Hub.

Because it is completely open and free, people can take whatever content they wish out of the ‘store’ and utilise it in formats appropriate for them, whether that be via websites, mobile phones or applications. In acknowledgement of the digital divides that can be accentuated within an open data environment, the Oriel Open Knowledge Hub pays particular attention to amplifying lesser heard voices and ensuring the presence of content from the South.

Sheila Siar of the Philippines Institute for Development Studies explained why she thinks the Hub is so innovative: “not just innovation when it comes to the use of new technologies and tools but also innovations in our approaches to knowledge brokering and intermediation.

The Oriel Open Knowledge Hub has been developed through a collaboration between IDS and a range of global partner organisations. Anyone will be able to access the Hub content through an Open API (a simple technology that acts as an "access key"). Users can then use a range of simple tools, or develop their own, to present any of the content on their own websites or applications, in ways that best suit their target audiences. The Hub will continue to be developed and adapted to respond to need. It is envisaged that through peer support and shared learning, partners will increase their capacity to engage and innovate with open data and really become familiar with the open data environment.

Other organisations that have relevant material and are committed to making this available as open content, can contribute to the Hub. Those who share the Oriel Open Knowledge Hub goal of raising the profile of Southern perspectives on development are particularly welcome.

"The Oriel Open Knowledge Hub project works collaboratively with partners, using peer support to help think through the issues and implications of opening up data,” explains Peter Mason, the Hub’s Technical Lead. “Working together in this way will enable us to share content better and to link us all into the new world of open knowledge.

Visit the OKHub Website

The Amsterdam launch event will be webcast here.

The Oriel Open Knowledge Hub is an output of the Global Open Knowledge Hub (GOKH) project, an IDS programme funded by DFID from April 2013 to April 2016.

For more information about the Oriel Open Knowledge Hub please contact Kelly Shephard, k.shephard@ids.ac.uk.

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