On March 30, three women taught us that technology isn’t just an objective, it changes society and infrastructure as a whole.

Mary Beth Baker, Emily Daniels and Tracey Lauriault, were part of a technological revolution known as Open Data Ottawa. A few months back, they organized Hackfest, an opportunity for technology lovers to come together to create unique and innovative mobile apps with the purpose of helping Ottawa citizens to enjoy and easily access recreation and services the city has to offer.

Thanks to our wonderful speakers and guests, the event generated huge awareness on Twitter.  We highly encourage participation from everyone, male or female, and if you know someone that’s passionate about technology or has an idea for an event, please don’t hesitate to talk to us, we love questions and feedback!

What can we take away from this event? From creative ideas for new apps to learning resources you can take home with you,  Mary Beth, Tracey and Emily enlightened us with their passion for the pursuit of open data :

• If you’re not reading this, make sure to pick up The Real World of Technology by Ursula Franklin and also check out Datalibre.ca.
• Remember Erin Brockovich? Well, she’s back in the spotlight and working on passing an open data bill about disease clusters being mapped and made public. Does this mean a sequel?!
• Another great quote is from the lovely Jane Jacobs, “Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.”
• If you loved the past Hackfest and want to take part again, Mary Beth is hoping to start a Mother’s Day Hackfest in May. Feel free to contact her for more information, maribethbaker <at> gmail.com. You can also check out photos from the last Hackfest on behalf of Edward  Ocampo-Gooding.
• And last, but not least, open data is not about sharing personal information with the public.  In order to share public information we have the right to know and to answer public policy issues that affect us and our communities.

Thanks again to our sponsors for their continued support.  We hope all the door prize winners enjoy their prizes!

CIRA .CA

Thornley Fallis

Open Data Ottawa

The Lemon Kitchen

Media Miser

The National Arts Centre

Swing Dynamite

Well sometimes procrastination pays off because since that happened Twitter has released its ‘Lists’ feature. Mel has put together a GGDOttawa list on Twitter. Here you can find all the women interested in #GGDOttawa.

If you’re not already on the list, leave a comment here, or contact @MelGallant to get included.