I am very proud to be part of the Open Knowledge Foundation – which has an amazing set of activities and a continually growing group of activists.

Founded in 2004 we’re a not-for-profit organization promoting open knowledge: that’s any kind of information – sonnets to statistics, genes to geodata – that can be freely used, reused, and redistributed. Find out more »
We organize events like OKCon, run projects like Open Shakespeare, and develop tools like CKAN and KnowledgeForge to help people create, find and share open material. See our full list of events » and projects ».

Much of this springs from the energy and application of Rufus Pollock who is a stone’s throw from the Chemistry Department. Rufus is not only energetic but (in the best possible way) goads others into action. So last Wed we met in the CB2 cybercafe in Cambridge where I managed to write a useful letter on behalf of OKF and also we continued to build up a website. I ‘ll reveal, but it’s great to watch Rufus hacking away at the Python and HTML/CSS. And there’s a range of other tools in his brain.
So here’s an advert for OKCON 2009 …

Open Knowledge Conference (OKCon) 2009

• where: Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis (CASA), UCL, London, UK (map)

• when: Saturday 28th March 2009, 1030-1830

• programme: programme page

• register: register page

• cfp: call for proposals

• last year: okcon 2008

The Open Knowledge Conference (OKCon) is back for its fourth installment bringing together individuals and groups from across the open knowledge spectrum for a day of discussions workshops.

This year the event will feature dedicated sessions on open knowledge and development and on the semantic web and open data. Plus there’s the usual substantial allocation of ‘Open Space’ — sessions, workshops and discussions proposed either via the CFP or on the day.

Interested in giving a paper? Have a project to talk about? Want to run a workshop or session? Please see the call for proposals.

Want to get involved in putting the event together or otherwise helping out? Contact us at info [at] okfn [dot] org or add your name to the OKCon wiki page.

Last but not least: we encourage early registration as space is limited!

Great day out. Unfortunately I shall be abroad, but best of fortune…