On October 12, more than 150 residents of Kherson region took part in the regional IV OPEN DATA FORUM that was held with the support of the EU Anti-Corruption Initiative in Ukraine (EUACI). The participants learned about the possibilities of using open data and modern technologies by business, local government, civil society, and mass media.
The forum has brought together civic activists, representatives from various cities and amalgamated territorial communities of Kherson region, deputies, representatives of communal enterprises, small and medium-sized businesses, journalists and teachers.
Bogdan Boyko, expert of the EU Anti-Corruption Initiative in Ukraine took part in panel discussion on such topics: how Ukraine can carry out reforms without international assistance and what actions each Ukrainian can do to fight and overcome corruption in the country. The representatives of the US Embassy in Ukraine, the Embassy of the Czech Republic and the International Renaissance Foundation also took part in this discussion.
Participants of the forum learned about the OpenMarket auction, which uses Blockchain technology, and the opportunities given to business via this service. In addition, the new opportunities of the OpenSchool in UA system, were also presented. This service is designed to meet the needs of educational institutions and build effective dialogue between parents and schools..
During discussion on economic potential of open data for Ukraine, the experts talked about modern applications and online services that are effectively using public registries.
Besides that, tools for analyzing activities of political parties and deputies were presented during the Forum. Those are meant to help voters make informed decisions during the elections in 2019. Using such tools, a new information resource PolitHUB has been built. This is a website that has gathered more than 90,000 analytical profiles of local and national MPs, political figures and political parties.
IV OPEN DATA FORUM was organized by the International Renaissance Foundation, the Center for Society Studies in Kherson City Council, with the support of the EU Anti-Corruption Initiative in Ukraine. Recently, the Forum has been held in Vinnytsya, and it is also to be held in Chernihiv and Dnipro.
