In May 2013 we announced the launch of the civic open data platform in the country. Our goals were for it to become an autonomous space for publishing and consuming data, independent of any government or organization, and to be a ready-to-use tool for institutions with good intentions to open their data. The topic of open data in Mexico was just beginning, and within a few months, we started to see civic hackers adding data from all over the country. Soon, this application became Datamx.io, and we promoted the message: open data from citizens for citizens.
After adding features for data standardization, a center for open data requests, a race to open data in non-open formats, and above all many lessons learned, Datamx.io became the support platform for citizens and organizations. By the end of 2015, more than 1,000 datasets were published, over 10 civic applications were made, and events were organized throughout the country. Beyond the numbers, Datamx.io has represented the place where open data is promoted to solve the country’s most pressing problems. It also promotes a form of citizen participation that has only been possible through technology, because opening data is also about building cities and exercising citizenship.
Today we are happy to inform you that Datamx.io has been awarded 1st place in the Innovation in Transparency Award 2015 in the category of Civil Organization projects. The Innovation in Transparency Award aims to recognize and disseminate the best experiences and innovations that consolidate and increase transparency in public management. It is led by the National Institute for Transparency, Access to Information and Protection of Personal Data (INAI); the World Bank; the Federal Audit Office; the National Institute of Public Administration A.C; and the Ministry of Public Administration. We are very grateful for this recognition and take it as a great encouragement to continue growing civic hacking and open data in our country.
This recognition is for the civic hackers of the country, the organizations that have opened data and promoted its use, the municipalities and agencies that have dared to go beyond transparency, and the communities that have used open data to create solutions to pressing problems. We deeply thank the Avina Foundation, Avina Americas, and the Civic App Accelerator Fund for their trust, financial support, and accompaniment to Datamx.io since its inception.
The experience of working on Datamx.io has meant for Codeando México the opportunity to learn from civic hackers, civil associations, journalists, entrepreneurs, creatives, and many other profiles, the value and importance of Open Data in the country. This platform is a great step we have taken as a community, to create, unconditionally, the raw material for the civic innovation we need. Datamx.io is here to stay and empower more communities in our country through Open Data.
Get involved with Datamx.io as a developer in our Github repositories, as a journalist or citizen with the Civic Communities, as a civil society organization or government organizing events, proposing standards and publishing data. We all have our place in improving the context through data, let’s keep proposing solutions with information accessible to citizens.
Post originally written for Codeando México in collaboration with Paulina Bustos. Photo: Flickr/trodel