Opendata.ch/2024 Forum

Gerhard Andrey
Member of the Swiss National Council
(Presentation)

Scott Smith
Founder and managing partner of Changeist

The Future of Data: Everything, Everywhere, All at Once (Presentation)
At a moment of fundamental change in the way we think about data, this talk looks at the possible future landscape of a world constantly making, learning from, and remaking data, and what the impacts of this future will be on people, policymakers, and the fabric of society.

Bio: Scott is founder and managing partner of Changeist, a strategic futures consulting group. He has been working in futures and foresight for 20 years, with almost 30 total in strategy and forecasting. He also wrote “How to Future: Leading and Sense-making in an Era of Hyperchange” in 2020, and co-authored “Future Cultures: How to Build a Future-Ready Organization Through Leadership” with Susan Cox-Smith in 2023. He is currently based in Barcelona.

Prof. Diego Kuonen
CEO & CAO, Statoo Consulting; Professor of Data Science, University of Geneva; Chair, ISEA; PhD Statistics; CStat PStat

Data Literacy: Leave No One Behind!
(Presentation)
This presentation introduces the imperative of enhancing data literacy in Switzerland, emphasizing both the what and the how.

Bio: Diego founded Statoo Consulting in 2001 and advises and consults businesses and government bodies in Switzerland and across Europe on analytics and data science. He is also Professor of Data Science at the University of Geneva. Last but not least, recognising the need to develop a social data literacy culture, he co-initiated “an appeal to policymakers for an urgent national data literacy campaign” in 2020 (data-literacy.ch).

Corinna Grobe
Research Associate at the Statistical Office Canton of Zurich

From Data to Impact: Combining Data Science Skills with a Digital Product Manager’s Mindset
(Presentation)
Data products play a key role in making policies and services better. But making effective (open) data products can be diffult, needing a mix of skills and teamwork across different areas. This session shares how the Canton of Zurich works together and uses structured data processes and collaboration to create impactful data products.

Bio: Corinna is a passionate data scientist and expert in data processes and data visualisation. Her many years of experience in data projects and her enthusiasm for outstanding customer experiences make her an experienced consultant in the optimisation of data processes and contemporary visualisation concepts. Her passion is to inspire administrative units to think outside the box and rethink how they work and communicate with data.

Prof. Jan-Erik Baars
Designer, Professor at the HSLU & Author of «Leading Design»

Universal Design and Data: User Centricity and the Impact of Design Strategies
In this presentation, we will dive into the ways in which customer-centricity can be applied to (open) data, paving the way for the development of data-focused products that truly meet the needs of customers.

Bio: Jan-Erik researches organizational maturity, design leadership and customer-centricity at the HSLU. He is the author of the book “Leading Design”, a hand and brain book to develop design-led organizations. He also is co-owner of Customer Metrics AG, a firm specializing in organizational metrics. He has over 30 years of experience in design related activities working at Philips and Telekom.

Dr. Julia Mia Stirnemann
BFH – Berner Fachhochschule
Professor for User Experience & Data Visualisation

Bio: Julia Mia is a designer and active in the intersection of design, civic tech and the public sector. She developed the worldmagenerator.com during her dissertation. Today, she’s a member of the board at the data cooperative Posmo and a Professor for User Experience and Data Vizualisation at the Institute for Public Sector Transformation at the University of  Applied Science Berne (BFH).

Jonas Lendenmann
Artist, Curator and Cultural Manager and research and curatorial assistant at Museum Rietberg and at the ZHdK

Bio: Jonas studied Fine Arts and Art Education at the Zurich University of the Arts ZHdK. He is an artist, art educator, event manager and was production manager of the theater company Onyrikon until 2023. He specialized in collections from colonial contexts in Swiss museums and the challenges of digitization in this field. For Opendata.ch he is involved in the organization of the Swiss Open Cultural Data Hackathon GLAMhack.

Philipp Bosch
CorrelAid e.V. | Research Associate at the Statistical Office Kanton Zürich

Bio: Philipp is a computational social scientist by training and a Data4Good activist by heart. In his professional life, he works for the Statistical Office of the Canton of Zurich as a data scientist with a strong focus on building the data community within the public administration. Before joining the public sector, he worked as Head of Community Management at CorrelAid where he still serves as a volunteer.

Andreas Amsler
#fogdt

Bio: Andreas helps to design good organisations and services. He is currently supporting MeteoSwiss in its introduction of OGD. Before that, he led the introduction of OGD at the Canton of Zurich. He is a co-founder of Opendata.ch, until last year on the board and since then on the advisory board.

Charlotte Van Ooijen Falce
CvanO – Digital Government Research & Advice

Bio: Charlotte is a researcher and policy consultant on (open) data and digital governance in the public sector. She has advised public authorities across different countries and government levels on data-driven public value creation. She supported the development of the official European data portal data.europa.eu through her work on data reuse in the public sector and open data impact, and led the analytical work on the data-driven public sector at the OECD. Based in Zürich, she is a member of the Swiss Digital Initiative’s Digital Trust Expert Group. In September she will join the digital agency Liip to actively contribute to the further development of data governance and open data in Switzerland.

Dénes Jäger
Open Knowledge Foundation Germany

Bio: Dénes is a project coordinator for policy and open data at the Open Knowledge Foundation Germany. He is also a freelance journalist and data researcher with several years of experience analyzing public data. Dénes supports administrative projects related to data management, infrastructure, and the use of data within the administration as part of the Open Administrative Data project. The goal is to document the conditions for success and to network different actors.

Florin Hasler
Opendata.ch

Bio: After working in foreign policy and political communications, Florin found his passion in technology-related advocacy and open innovation. At Opendata.ch, he supports the public sector on its journey to become more open and advocates for a digital transformation that benefits the many, not the few. Before taking over as Director, Florin managed Opendata.ch’s Prototype Fund.

Marie-Jeanne Semnar
Public Policy Manager at Interpharma

Bio: Marie-Jeanne is responsible for digitalisation at Interpharma, the Association of the Research-Based Pharmaceutical Industry, and is a Board member of the Alliance for Digital Transformation in Healthcare. In these roles, she is committed to building a health data ecosystem in which high-quality data can be collected along the patient journey and used for research and innovation.

Stefan Metzger
Founder & CEO of Beyond Civic

Bio: Smart City and digital transformation expert with 15+ years of management experience in technology, innovation and public sector. He is a former CDO of the City of Lucerne / Head of Smart City at Swisscom. Most recently, he co-founded of the national association “Smart City Hub” and is an expert for Innosuisse.

Andrin Eichin
Senior Policy Advisor at the Swiss Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM)

Bio: Andrin works as a Senior Policy Advisor on online platforms, algorithms and digital policy at the Swiss Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM) since 2019. As an expert on the intersection of digital policy and freedom of speech, he works in policy development on national level and represents Switzerland in various international fora.

Beat Estermann
Member of the Board of Opendata.ch

Bio: Beat is an expert in digital transformation of the public sector and an activist for free knowledge and open data. He provides research and consulting services as well as training in
these areas. He is a founding member of Opendata.ch and responsible for the association’s activities related to Open GLAM and Open Event Data.

Maik Roth
Head of the Open Government Data (OGD) secretariat at the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (SFSO)

Bio: Maik is an economist and statistician with 20 years of experience in the Swiss Confederation. He is responsible for the OGD Office, which implements measures to support OGD in the Confederation, standards for the exchange of metadata and operates the opendata.swiss portal.

Raphaëlle Arnaud
GIS Project Coordinator at the Swiss Federal Office of Topography

Bio: Since 2018, Raphaëlle has been a project coordinator at swisstopo, where she is responsible for the Swiss geometadata catalog (geocat.ch) and the Swiss standard for geometadata. After completing her studies at the University of Paris Panthéon-Sorbonne, she did a doctoral thesis at EPFL. Raphaëlle then worked as a research associate at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich and for ten years at the Office for Geographic Information in the Canton of Berne.

Mathias Born
Interoperability specialist at the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (SFSO)

Bio: Mathias Born provides support in discussing and cleaning up code lists. And he helps with describing even the tiniest data elements on the I14Y interoperability platform.

Tania Humar
Federal Office of Topography Swisstopo

Bio: Working at swisstopo for over 6 years now, Tania is part of the team responsible for the Swiss geodata catalogue geocat.ch. Previously, Tania worked as a research assistant in the fields of wind energy, pollution control, dune and alpine ecology and sustainable agriculture, both in Switzerland and New Zealand.

Martin Scheiber
GIS Competence Center at the State of Fribourg

Bio: Martin, a geographer by education, works for the GIS Competence Center of the Canton of Fribourg. His area of work includes geometadata and the operation of the geoportal, the cantonal platform for making open geodata available to the public.

Monica Ray Scott
UX Designer at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

Bio: Monica currently works as a UX Design Manager at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). In this role, she manages a team of UX Designers in Geneva and Nairobi that support product teams across the organization in applying design thinking methodologies and UX research and design to the conception and design of digital solutions.

Michael Njogu
UX Designer at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

Bio: Michael is a design enthusiast who is all about tackling creative challenges with a smile. He pays close attention to the little things and is dedicated to making designs that put users first.

Lightning Talks

Elodie Auer
Director at Slowlution

Accessibility Data: Solutions for People with Reduced Mobility (Presentation)
Discover how data can be used to create solutions that enhance accessibility for individuals with reduced mobility.

Bio: Elodie has bachelor in management from École hôtelière de Lausanne. She worked as a communication manager in several fields (startups active in food traceability, art festival, finance). She created her marketing and communication agency in 2021 and co-created Slowlution in 2020.

Stefan Barac
Strategic Designer at strategic a11y

Data Accessibility: Data-Driven Transformation (Presentation)
This session explores how data accessibility can reshape everyday experiences, enhancing quality of life.

Bio: As a strategic designer, Stefan helps companies set goals beyond the monetary ones. Realising the sustainable purpose of existence delivers more sales. This improves the DNA of the company and ultimately their finances. The basic rules: It’s about helping people by solving their problem. Increasing efficiency comes later. For 15 years his focus has been on accessibility and sustainability: If 0 out of 10 users can access my offer, how much revenue will it drive?

Konstantinos Samaras-Tsakiris
Software Engineer, Open Source and ML Advisor

Privacy, the Hidden Data Transaction Cost (Presentation)
During the lightning talk Konstantinos’ extensive experience working at various organisations including CERN, and Ai4Privacy. The great value of sharing data in being open and why certain open data projects succeed whereas others fail. Then, we will share Ai4Privacy’s experience with open sourcing data and what the primary concerns are of the projects we took part in.

Bio: Konstantinos solves scientific challenges employing ML and Cloud technologies, as a software engineer and advisor. At CERN he built a strong link with Open Source which he continues to pursue with high impact projects, collaborating with multidisciplinary teams in startups such as Ai4Privacy.