Open Finland 2014 seminar to address opportunities presented by open data

“Sustainable growth and job creation requires businesses based on open data. The goal-directed opening up of public information resources will contribute to promoting open science and will create opportunities for the creation of a new kind of entrepreneurship and innovations. For Finland, digitalisation is a great chance to increase productivity and to open up new opportunities for civil society. The change that Finland needs requires the open-minded promotion of agile and experimental activities,” says Prime Minister Stubb.

The seminar, which will be held in the Wanha Satama exhibition centre in Helsinki, will be attended by nearly 1,600 visitors over two days. The programme includes high-level Finnish and international speakers, 30 exhibition stands, and Finnish success stories relating to the opening up of information and the utilisation of open data.

The event’s keynote speakers are Beth Simone Noveck, an internationally respected open data visionary, from the USA, and Birgitta Jónsdóttir, a Member of Parliament representing the Pirate Party, from Iceland. Professor of Law Noveck has developed open government in the USA and the UK and is director of The Governance Lab network, which she founded. Jónsdóttir has specialised in open data and freedom of expression issues, direct democracy, and protection of digital privacy.

In his opening speech, the Prime Minister will announce a pilot on the opening up of data monitoring the implementation of the Government Programme. To date, monitoring data has only been available to ministries, but now citizens will also be able to monitor the implementation of the Government Programme, on the Government’s website. On Tuesday, Minister of the Environment Ville Niinistö and Minister of Education and Communications Krista Kiuru will present their ministries’ open data projects. Sami Paatero, State Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, will talk about the opening up of economic data to citizens as well as the national data portal. Everyone will have the opportunity to present their own ideas in Tuesday’s open space workshops.

Why is open data important?

Open data is public information and data that anyone can freely use for different purposes legally, free of charge and as far as possible in machine-readable format. Opening up public data in this way will create opportunities for new businesses and innovative services, civic engagement and democracy, enhancing governance, and education and research.

Event can be followed live online

It will also be possible to follow the event, with the exception of Tuesday’s theme workshops, as a direct webcast. The direct addresses of the live broadcasts are:

Monday 15.9. 12.30–17.15

http://www.goodmood.fi/webcaster/accounts/avoinsuomi2014/live_15092014

Tuesday 16.9. 9.00–16.00

HALL F
Joint sessions in the morning and afternoon
and
Theme 1: Research data, research resources and their utilisation, and
Theme 5: Open design
http://www.goodmood.fi/webcaster/accounts/avoinsuomi2014/live_16092014_f

HALL C
Theme 2: Government information resources and their utilisation, and
Theme 6: A meaningful and healthy life
http://www.goodmood.fi/webcaster/accounts/avoinsuomi2014/live_16092014_c

HALL G
Theme 3: Democracy, participation and crowdsourcing, and
Theme 4: Financing and procurement as an enabler
http://www.goodmood.fi/webcaster/accounts/avoinsuomi2014/live_16092014_g

Further information: Permanent State Under-Secretary Timo Lankinen, tel. +358 295 160 300, and Ministerial Advisor Anne Miettinen, tel. +358 295 160 196, and Head of Communications Päivi Paasikoski, p. 040 547 6279 and Head of Web Communications Pekka Pekkala, tel. +358 295 160 168, Prime Minister’s Office