Programme for Open Finland 2014 finalised
Did you know that all weather information broadcast on television is freely available? Anyone can access the weather data on the Finnish Meteorological Institute's website to set up an own weather service. The sharing of data resources that were earlier accessible only to authorities and public administration is called "open data". It is one of the Government Programme's key projects which are to be fostered within a short space of time.
These services will be exhibited at the Open Finland 2014 event on 15 and 16 September in the Wanha Satama conference centre, Helsinki. The event programme has just been finalised. The keynote speakers are Beth Simone Noveck, who has assisted in a number of government projects both in the United States and in Britain, and Birgitta Jónsdóttir, who is an MP for the Movement in Iceland. Jónsdóttir is one of the Movement's founders. She specialises in open data and freedom of speech issues, direct democracy and digital privacy protection.
The Open Finland 2014 event will be opened by Prime Minister Alexander Stubb. Minister of the Environment Ville Niinistö and Minister of Education and Communications Krista Kiuru will present their ministries' open data projects. The new projects are to make it easier for citizens to follow the implementation of the Government Programme and the Budget, for example. State Secretaries from the Ministry of Finance Raimo Luoma and Sami Paatero will talk about ways of opening economic data to citizens and the national data portal.
Open data is seen as a means of promoting growth and new business opportunities. As a result of the opening of the Finnish Meteorological Institute's weather information, Sunsää Oy has set up a service which enables advertising based on the prevailing weather conditions. One of the EU's fundamental principles is that all public sector information should be made available for commercial and non-commercial purposes.
The event will be webcasted live
In addition to the earlier mentioned speakers, the following experts will also address the audience on Monday 15 September: Data Protection Ombudsman Reijo Aarnio; Research and Development Director Jyrki Kasvi, Information Society Development Centre; Director Petri Kokko, Google; Managing Director Kimmo Koski, CSC IT Centre for Science; Project Manager Tanja Lahti, Helsinki Region Infoshare; Päivi Lipponen, Chair of the Parliamentary Committee for the Future; Director of Unit (Legal Affairs) Kirsi Miettinen, the Ministry of Transport and Communications; Chair Antti Poikola, Open Knowledge Finland; Managing Director Antti Rainio Navinova Oy; and Professor Matti Rossi, Aalto University.
On Tuesday 16 September, all participants are welcome to present their own ideas in the open space workshops. Presentations by representatives from the National Institute for Health and Welfare, City of Helsinki, University of Tampere, University of Helsinki, Tekes, Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM), Avion ministeriö ry (Open ministry), Finnish Environment Institute, National Archives of Finland, Forum Virium, Helsinki City Library, Association for Finnish Work and various ministries will be heard at the beginning of parallel discussion sessions. The business life will be represented by Ramboll Management Consulting, Spatineo and DIGILE.
The exhibition will feature more than 30 stands plus success stories from Finland relating to the opening of data and use of open data.
Registration is full, but please follow the event live at avoinsuomi2014.fi – the webcast will cover all other events except the thematic workshops.
On both days, the programme will be led by communications professional Anna Sorainen and open data advocate Jarmo Eskelinen.
Inquiries: Timo Lankinen, chair of the project steering group, Permanent State Under-Secretary, tel.+358 295 160 300 and Anne Miettinen, Ministerial Adviser, tel. +358 295 160 196; and Päivi Paasikoski, Head of Communications, tel. +358 40 547 6279 and Pekka Pekkala, Head of Web Communications, tel. +358 295 160 168, Prime Minister’s Office