“Our Journey, Our Future, Our Data for National Development,” is the theme for Saint Lucia’s first ever Online Open Data Showcase, in commemoration of the 2019 International Open Data Day (IODD) on March 2.

Spearheaded by the Department of Public Service’s Saint Lucia Open Data Initiative, the Online Open Data Showcase will be launched on March 1, and will provide an opportunity to highlight the use of data in both the public and private sector, with a view of showing the importance of data in decision-making, productivity and inevitably, national development.

Submissions are therefore invited for projects, research papers, applications or any works done utilizing data available on Saint Lucia Open data website (data.govt.lc). In order to submit an entry, participants must complete the online entry form available on the Open Data Website (data.govt.lc).

International Open Data Day is an annual celebration of open data all over the world and provides an opportunity to show the benefits of open data and encourage the adoption of open data policies in government, business and civil society.

In 2014, Saint Lucia became the first country in the Caribbean to participate in an Open Data Readiness Assessment (ODRA) as part of a World Bank Programme of assistance in the Caribbean. Saint Lucia’s Open Data Policy document was adopted in November 2017. The policy articulates the framework within which Saint Lucia implements an effective open data programme. This involves a cross-government policy on sharing of data in the public domain and the promotion of Open Data throughout all sectors. In implementation of this policy, the Open Data Website was officially launched in June 2018.