Mekong - U.S. Partnership
If you Google “big data” you may soon find Mekong Partnership for the Environment among the search results. On June 19, 2014, the tech giant agreed to partner with the USAID-funded project to support the next Mekong ICT ‘Bootcamp’.
The Bootcamp will bring together up to 80 tech and data experts, journalists and civil society organizations from across the region to focus on big data solutions for promoting open access to information in Mekong countries. The Bootcamp aims to create “safe space” for Mekong tech experts to share best practices and incubate new ideas to spur innovation.
This year, participants will learn how to use digital tools to collect, analyse and share big data to fuel advocacy campaigns, inform multi-stakeholder dialogs, and shape policy around large-scale regional infrastructure projects.
Free access to big data – the massive volumes of information gathered and stored by governments and companies – presents real opportunities for civil society to use evidence to influence development in the Mekong region. The Google-sponsored Bootcamp will take place over five days in early 2015.
Source: USAID/RDMA Regional Environment Office Weekly Update
