Open @ UNGA 81: Open Data
This episode features audio from the Open Data panel at Open @ UNGA 81: A Conversation on Collaboration. It was recorded on September 21, 2026.
During July’s UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance, Secretary-General Guterres mentioned not letting “the digital divide harden into an AI divide.” This panel will explore the space between “open everything” and “close everything,” asking what meaningful access, governance, and participation require in practice. AI has changed the scale and stakes of data reuse. Material can now be ingested, combined, and commercialized far beyond its original context, prompting some communities and rightsholders to reconsider open access. But broad retrenchment carries its own costs. This includes a shrinking commons, disadvantaged researchers, and data access limited to those who can negotiate private deals. This panel explores the space between “open everything” and “close everything” and what meaningful access, governance, and participation require.
Panelists include:
Angela Oduor Lungati, Executive Director at Ushahidi (moderator)
E.M. Lewis-Jong, Founder and CEO at Mozilla Data Collective
Chris Lewis, President/CEO of Public Knowledge
Jane Anderson, Co-Founder of Local Contexts & Professor at New York University
