Transparency International Latvia (“Sabiedrība par atklātību – Delna”) in cooperation with Estonian and Finnish Transparency International (TI) chapters are pleased to announce international anti-corruption open data hackathon which is going to take place online on January 25 and 26, 2024. The event is organised to invite civil society, public institutions, companies and every person to contribute to our common goal of building a more transparent and accountable society. The growing importance of open data in the fight against corruption provides opportunities to identify, detect and prevent corrupt activities. The success of these efforts depends on effective, correct and shared use of such data. The event is going to take place on the online platform Zoom on January 25, 2024 from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m., as well as on January 26 from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. We invite you to register for the hackathon here->!
During the hackathon, participants will gain insight into the use of open data, as well as work on solving specific problems – ideas on how to use open data to reveal possible corruption, conflicts of interest or to improve governance. After the hackathon, TI Latvia, together with Estonian and Finnish colleagues, will present the best ideas to the relevant state institutions, inviting them to use the ideas in their work. In preparation for the hackathon, the three chapters have developed a comparative analysis of national approaches in using open data as a tool in their respective fields against corruption. You can read more about the analysis here.
“The experience of previous hackathons organised by Transparency International Latvia shows that using open data, databases created or collected by public authorities, can be used in order to generate tools that can be developed to fight corruption. And the use of these data and tools can become a powerful implementation for promoting transparency, accountability and integrity in society.” – emphasises Inese Tauriņa, the Executive Director of Transparency International Latvia.
Open data are important for a variety of reasons. Firstly, they act as a control tool against misuse of public resources. By providing access to government spending and budget information, it allows citizens to keep track of where their money is being spent and ensures that it serves its intended purpose. Secondly, open data can reveal hidden interests and conflicts of interest – using beneficial ownership registers, making it harder for corrupt actors to hide behind legal loopholes. Thirdly, open data are a key driver of government accountability and empowers civil society, journalists and anyone to scrutinise public officials, thereby reducing opportunities for corruption.
Open data have a high potential in promoting good governance and anti-corruption measures, therefore, Transparency International Latvia has been organising open data hackathons since 2016.
Additional information: Jēkabs Kārlis Rasnačs, Project Manager at Transparency International Latvia, +37129216268, jekabs.rasnacs@delna.lv.
This press release has been produced with the financial support from the Nordic Council of Ministers. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of the coordinators of this project and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Nordic Council of Ministers.
