Big Data, Little Data, and Everything in Between at this Year’s DataFest Africa
“The more people access or use data in Africa, the more concerns arise over misuse or unethical use of data and the need to promote data governance on the continent.”- Alice Namuli, DataFest Africa main event keynote speaker
Countries across the African continent continue to take positive strides towards the realisation of data governance. According to the UN Conference on Trade and Development, there are 33 countries with data privacy legislation and additional countries with draft legislation. Countries such as Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria, and Egypt have gone the extra mile to pass data protection laws. Other countries have introduced data protection bills that are at various levels in the respective country’s legislative agendas.
But how do we ensure that data governance with an Afrocentric feminist approach to big and little data continues to be realised?
These were some of the conversations and questions that happened on July 7th, 2022, the climax of this year’s edition of DataFest Africa (Previously DataFest Kampala) held at the National ICT Innovation Hub in Uganda. The full day hybrid event is the most successful and biggest edition that we have held so far.
Held under the theme; Big Data, Little Data, and Everything in Between, the event took place after a series of pre-events that happened in Gulu (June 10th), Mbarara (June 16th) and Jinja (July 4th). Participants were drawn from data scientists, analysts, developers, data enthusiasts and civic tech organisations converging to demystify, learn and celebrate the future of data on the continent.
“This year’s theme is a reminder that we must continue to put a spotlight on how data of all magnitudes from all over the different players is being collected, regulated, and utilised towards improved service delivery, especially for women, elderly,children, and other marginalized groups. Big data and little data have both been proven to revolutionise industry, politics and social enterprises in Uganda and the world over.”- Flavia Opio, the Team Lead Innovations, the National ICT Innovation Hub while speaking at the main event.
But how do we bridge the gap between data knowledge and awareness? Gilbert Beyamba, the Director of Programs at Pollicy emphasised the importance of civil society partnerships that can work actively with governments and big tech platforms since they have the capacity to provide alternative solutions to such challenges.
“At Pollicy and through partnerships with stakeholders such as DefendDefenders, R Studios, Code for Science and Society, and more, we are bringing conversations and hands on workshops on data closer to people more than ever. It was so refreshing to see the energies of people in communities such as Gulu, Mbarara, and Jinja actively pick interest in how data can improve their day-to-day lives.” Gilbert mentioned.
Data is very important in ensuring that evidence-based solutions are used to drive change in communities. Governments play a very important role in ensuring that such engagements are positively regulated.
“Today, data is used in weather, urban development, and management, health and homes. Big data is enabling organisations in decision making, increasing productivity and efficiency among others”. Alice Namuli, Advocate of the High Court of Uganda and Senior Partner at Katende, Ssempembwa and Co. Advocates mentioned during her keynote speaker at the event.
These conversations were further echoed during the lightning talks at the event. These were presented by Rhina Mikisa from Open Source for Equality who focused on Open Source For Equality, Grayson Clapp the Energy Data Analytics Hub Project manager at the World Bank shared opportunities that can be explored with the World Bank Group’s Open Energy Data platform, Allan Mbabani the Executive Director Open Street map Uganda shared barriers to technology inclusivity and access Robert Ssewagudde from Light for The World shared about disability inclusion in data.
“There is a concern to increase access and exclusivity of data or information to the masses through giving access to technology to institutions like schools to both students and teachers.”- Allan Mbabani, Executive Director Open Street Map Uganda.
We held a panel discussion moderated by Shem Opolot Uganda Program Manager for Duke University’s Division of Global Neurosurgery and Neurology (DGNN) and was made up of Bonnita Nyamwire The Research Manager at Pollicy, Bernard Sabiti Senior Engagement and Partnerships Manager at Development Initiatives (DI), Jean K Makki Director of Design Hub Kampala and Vice President, Start Up Uganda and Dr. Nakatumba Joyce a Lecturer at Makerere University.
Panelists talked about their experiences in using data daily, the opportunities and challenges for data producers and consumers of data both the private sector and government, and what the future holds for Africans when it comes to our data collection, processing, analysis, protection and governance.
“You cannot claim to have a good solution to a problem if you do not have data and that’s the value of data. Data must be inclusive, well prepared and doesn’t introduce biases to your model. There are many things that need to be put into consideration.” Dr. Joyce Nakatumba while speaking on the panel.
The breakaway sessions (linked below and can be watched on YouTube)for the main event in Kampala were about;
- Data Protection Protection in the Post Covid-19 restriction era led by Brian Geoffrey Chanwat, Team Lead Strategic Response International and organisation;
- Baseline Study on Urban Data Governance in Uganda led by Professor Moses Muhumuza,
- Introduction to Robotics (Electronics and Computer programming) workshop by Fundi Bots,
- The digital creative economy: A mapping of the current landscape in Uganda n went over the findings of Pollicy’s research paper authored by Bobina Zulfa, a Data and Digital Rights Researcher at Pollicy that was mapping the digital creative landscape in Kampala,
- Data-science in Uganda led by Hassan Kibirige Technical Lead at A-plus Associates and a fellow at R Studios,
- Introduction to DataViz was led by Lukwago Wilson the Design Lead at Pollicy,
- Product Technology For Cyber Threat Intelligence led by Daniel Opio of AddSecurity,
- Data Science for Front-end Engineers was a structured segment where Alecho Edwin a Lawyer and Digital Solutions Architect with Alaara,
- Trust in Data: A Citizen’s Bird’s Eye View in Digital Economy
We closed the DataFest Africa main event in Kampala with a networking session where participants got an opportunity to interact with speakers, data enthusiasts, and more.
Written by Ibrahim Waiswa Batambuze for Pollicy.
