UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY

SANTA BARBARA • SANTA CRUZ

BERKELEY • DAVIS • IRVINE• LOS ANGELES • MERCED • RIVERSIDE • SAN DIEGO • SAN FRANCISCO

August 20, 2013

For more information:

Marc A. Levin, r (510) 643-6476

Camille Crittenden, or (510) 643-8834

California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom to Deliver Keynote Address at

Open Data Conferenceat UC Berkeley

California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom and Steven Adler, IBM’s Information Strategist and Chair of IBM Information Stategy Council, will be the featured keynote speakers at the upcoming conference: Can “Open Data” Improve Democratic Governance? The conference is open to the public and runs from 8:30 am to 6 pm on Thursday, September 12, 2013, in the Banatao Auditorium, Sutardja Dai Hall,on the Berkeley campus.

The conference explores the impact of open data on public policy and democratic governance in the digital age. Open data, social media, geographic information systems, wireless communications, and mobile devices are transforming the relationship between government institutions at all levels and the constituents they represent. The open data movement, fueled by technical innovations, offers opportunities to increase accountability and citizen participation through greater transparency and by generating more effective, crowd-sourced solutions to public problems. At the same time, questions of access and inclusion must also be addressed. Which groups are enabled to participate by these tools and whose voices are omitted?

The conference features leading experts from the United States and abroad addressing all aspects of the open data movement as a meansto increase transparency and civic participation. Twenty-seven speakers and participants will include representativesfrom all levels of government, software firms and start-ups, nonprofit and public interest organizations, and academia with the goal of examining best practices and the challenges to safeguard privacy, equity and access in the public sector’s information economy.

The conference is being organized by the Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS) and CITRIS Data & Democracy Initiative in a unique collaboration between Berkeley’s social science and engineering sectors. Co-sponsors also include: California Forward, UC Berkeley School of Information, UC Berkeley Canadian Studies Program, and the Canadian Consulate General/San Francisco-Silicon Valley.

Some of the prominent speakers include the following:

•Gavin Newsom, California Lieutenant Governor

•Steven Adler, IBM’s Information Strategist & Chair- IBM Information Strategy Council

•Carole Post, Former Chief Information Officer for the City of New York

•Jeanne M. Holm, Chief Evangelist, data.gov

•Beejaye Kokil, African Development Bank

•Zac Bookman, Co-Founder, Open Gov

•Tom Spengler, CEO, Granicus

•Jonathan Reichental, Chief Information Officer, City of Palo Alto

•Laurenellen McCann, National Policy Director, Sunlight Foundation

•Jay Costa, Program Director, MapLight

•Henry Brady, Dean,UC Berkeley, Goldman School of Public Policy

•Annalee Saxenian, Dean, UC Berkeley, School of Information

To learn more about the conference agenda please visit:

To register for the conference (required as seating is limited), please visit:

Twitter: #OpenDataUC13

About IGS

The Institute of Governmental Studies is California’s oldest public policy research center. Since 1919, IGS has served as a forum for nonpartisan research and discussion of governance, public policy, and politics. Its programs include internships and research grants for students, faculty research, and public education. More information about IGS can be found at: igs.berkeley.edu

About CITRIS Data & Democracy Initiative

Founded in 2011, the Data and Democracy Initiative brings creativity and innovation from computer science, electrical engineering, and social media to bear on issues of democracy building and civic participation. More information about the Initiative can be found at:

democracy.citris-uc-org

About CITRIS

The Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS) was established in 2001 as a multi-campus research unit to create innovative information technology solutions to the most pressing social, environmental and health care problems. More information about CITRIS can be found at:

citris-uc.org

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