Watch the recording

Sameer Vasta, Master of Ceremonies

Conference Co-Chairs
Ab Velasco, Toronto Public Library
Andi Argast, Open Data Institute Toronto

Pam Ryan, Director, Service Development and Innovation
Toronto Public Library

 Watch the recording

This dynamic keynote panel will provide their diverse perspectives on the conference theme of Open – Inclusive, Equitable, Ethical & Impactful.

Moderator:  Sameer Vasta, Ontario Digital Service

Teresa Scassa, Canada Research Chair, Information Law and Policy University of Ottawa

Jonathan Dewar, Executive Director, First Nations Information Governance Centre

Tracey Lauriault, Assistant Professor in Critical Media and Big Data,
Communication and Media Studies, School of Journalism and Communication, Carleton University

 Watch the recording

Our digital world holds many challenges as illustrated by Cambridge Analytica, issues related to the local Sidewalk Toronto initiative, the smart cities challenge happening in Canada and differences between our urban and rural communities.  This diverse panel will speak to the current state of our digital community and where we need to go.

Moderator:  Jury Konga, Open Knowledge Canada

Teresa Scassa, Canada Research Chair, Information Law and Policy University of Ottawa

Suneel Jethani, Open Data Engagement Manager and Research Fellow, Digital Design and Innovation
State Government of Victoria, Australia and University of Melbourne

Barbara Swartzentruber, Executive Director, Strategy, Innovation and Intergovernmental Service, City of Guelph

Pam Ryan, Director, Service Development and Innovation, Toronto Public Library

Alex Miller, President and Founder, Esri Canada

 Watch the recording

A panel consisting of high school, university and recent grad students as well as a teacher speaking about how youth are being educated about and using open data to create meaningful and impactful projects.

Moderator: Kishawna Peck, Financial Data Analytics, HomeStars

Dr. Sacha Noukhovitch, Educator Earl Haig Secondary School

Jake Miller, Project Neutral

Christopher Chifor, Student Earl Haig Secondary School

Elizabeth Robichaud, Technology Marketing Manager, PointClickCare

 Watch the recording

EVERYONE welcome to make a BRIEF announcement … new events, new initiatives … Please register for this at the registration desk and we’ll call you up in order.

Welcome message from our sponsors who support our conference.

 Watch the recording

Suneel Jethani, Open Data Engagement Manager and Research Fellow, Digital Design and Innovation
State Government of Victoria, Australia and University of Melbourne

Dr. Dale Leorke, Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences
Tampere University, Finland

 Watch the recording

Data is used to make decisions big and small by humans and robots. How can we help each other navigate the growing landscape of open data, artificial intelligence and big data to make sure the truth is out there? We will explore the need for improved data equity, literacy and inclusion to ensure the people impacted by data are not left out of the equations.

Heather Krause, CEO Datassist

Amy Bihari, Open Government Office, Province of Ontario

 Watch the recording

Simpler, faster, better open data in Ontario The province of Ontario has proposed the new Simpler Faster Better Services Act, which would create a Chief Digital and Data (!) Officer and elevate open data principles into law in Ontario. Come hear about how this happened and what else the province is up to. We’d love to hear your questions and comments about the future of open data, including what data you want most, how you’d like it to be licensed, and how new & emerging topics might intersect with open data including Artificial Intelligence, data privacy, and open source software.

Christine Hagyard, Senior Manager Policy and Partnerships
Ontario Open Government Office, Ontario Digital Services

Honey Dacanay, Senior Manager/Executive Lead, Standards & Governance
Ontario Digital Service

Paul Vet, Senior Policy Advisor, Open Government Office

Dawn Edmonds, Policy and Project Lead, Open Government Office

Rachel Barton, Senior Policy Advisor, Open Government Office

 Watch the recording

HousingNowTO project – Using Open-Data & Scraped-Data to create public, interactive maps for  tracking-progress on Affordable-Housing proposals in Toronto

Moderator: Mark J. Richardson, HousingNowTO

Paul Ainslie, City of Toronto Coucillor, Ward 24 – Scarborough Guildwood

Carmen Yu, Graduate, Ryerson University Urban Planning

Devin Tu, President, MapYourProperty

 Watch the recording

Moderator:  Jury Konga, GO Open Data Association and Open Knowledge  Canada

Connie McCutcheon, President
Municipal Information Systems Association (MISA) Ontario

Christine Hagyard, Senior Manager Policy and Partnerships
Ontario Open Government Office, Ontario Digital Services

Darrell Bridge, Senior Data Analytics Strategist & Open Data Lead
City of Ottawa

 Watch the recording

Why should governments adopt open source technology and practices? The session discusses the weighted rational for the City of Toronto Open Data Team’s shift to embracing open source and the positive impact it’s made in a series of areas from procurement to co-creation.

Denis Carr, Open Data Supervisor
City of Toronto

 Watch the recording

Moving GO Open Data conference from discussion to action.  Conferences are great for knowledge exchange, dialogue and networking but beyond that we need to have some actionable items to act on following the conference.  Join this great panel for defining our action plan.

Moderator:  Sameer Vasta, Ontario Digital Services

Ryan Garnett, Manager Open Data and Data Acquisition
Geospatial Competency Centre, City of Toronto

Connie McCutcheon, President MISA Ontario
Open Data Lead, Niagara Region

Kejo Buchanan, Information Professional
Open Data Institute Toronto

Tracey Lauriault, Assistant Professor
Communications and Big Data, Carleton University

Christine Hagyard, Senior Manager Policy and Partnerships
Ontario Open Government Office, Ontario Digital Services