Data-Pop Alliance was well-represented at this year’s Festival de Datos, which was held in Punta del Este, Uruguay from November 7-9th. From DPA, Director of Data Science Zinnya del Villar, Technology and Democracy Program Director Julie Ricard, and Research Managers Agustina Perez and Evelin Lasarga were able to attend the event to discuss our work and workshop innovative projects. The event, organized by the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data (GPSDD), brought together data for development practitioners from around the world to present new and impactful projects, unlock investment for these initiatives, and drive innovation. At the event, we were able to present on three exciting new aspects of our work portfolio, discussed in detail below.
MPI+
During a Peer Exchange Session, Agustina Perez presented our MPI+ initiative, which is a multidimensional poverty index aimed at fighting poverty and strengthening livelihoods in urban settlements. In partnership with Gerando Falcões (GF) and the MIT Sloan Latin America Office (MSLAO), DPA has built on a traditional multidimensional poverty index (MPI) by combining mixed-methods and enriching the analysis with non-traditional data sources, including:
- Satellite Imagery and Earth Observation,
- High Resolution Imagery,
- Geolocated Data, and
- Call Detail Records.
These data sources allow us to better understand poverty dynamics in these communities and will aid in the advocacy for better public policies to improve quality of life for those living there. Thus far, the pilot stage has focused on two Brazilian favelas, Favela dos Sonhos, located on the outskirts of São Paulo, and Pedra Lisa (Morro da Providência), situated in the heart of Rio de Janeiro.
For more information on the MPI+ project, please contact our team at mpi.plus@datapopalliance.org
DFN Acquisition
DFN Founder, Ali Dunn (pictured above), was also present at the festival. She delivered a lightning talk on “How Generative AI will Change Media and the Arts” and also participated in a panel discussion on “The Future of Young People’s Rights in the Digital World”. During the discussion, she provided insights through a feminist perspective, examining both the challenges and potential solutions at the intersection of technology and young people’s rights. The Festival presented our team with the opportunity to discuss our acquisition of the Data Feminism Network (DFN), to be part of our Data Feminism Program. Together with the DFN team serving as an Advisory Board, we will use our platform to share knowledge, start conversations, and connect people, with the aim of democratizing data feminism for all. To meet this goal, we will be organizing (and continuing) diverse DFN initiatives, such as a book club, a podcast, webinars, and other exciting projects to bring our shared vision of Data Feminism to a wider audience.
To learn more about the DFN and get in touch with the team behind this project, please email us at dfn@datapopalliance.org.
Edutainment meets AI: Collective Reflection on Data and Technology using Generative AI
Additionally, Julie Ricad (pictured above with Agustina Perez) hosted an Ideas Lab Session titled, “Edutainment meets AI: Collective Reflection on Data and Technology using Generative AI”. During the session, participants were asked to think of any book, movie, documentary, series or audio (e.g. podcast) that is related to this topic and has impacted them in some way (for e.g.: giving hope, provoking fear, wondering how it applies to their local context, etc.) and sparked reflection. Based on this initial personal brainstorming, they were asked to generate an AI-based image that illustrates their thinking on the matter, using the Dall-e based interface available on the Eureka Platform (eureka.club), a platform and online community developed by Julie. Finally, the AI-generated images produced by each participant were discussed and used to summarize the main feelings, thoughts and takeaways the group had about them.
An Enriching Experience
Overall, the team was grateful to be a part of this experience and enjoyed exchanging knowledge in such a vibrant and data-forward setting. The collaborative nature of the event helped DPA to create synergistic links with other like-minded individuals and organizations, many of which we hope to collaborate with in the near future.
