Freethinkers Forum: It's The People's Data! The Open Data Movement

Governments of all levels collect, store, and use data. This is an important part of their job and our tax dollars pay them to do it. But how do we know what data they collect? Is it accurate? What are they doing with it? The answers to these questions help us to understand our governments’ actions and to hold them accountable. Access to this data can also help to better our own lives and to support the welfare of our communities. It is this understanding that underlies the Open Data movement – a movement that works to make sure that the data that we have paid for is available to anyone who wants it.

Tom Johnson – Professor Emeritus of Journalism at San Francisco State and retired Deputy Editor of the St. Louis Post Dispatch – will describe some of the hurdles to data accessibility and will give us the tools to overcome them.

Freethinkers Forum meets the second Sunday of every month from noon - 1:30 pm in a hybrid format, in person at UU Santa Fe on the corner of Barcelona and Galisteo, and via zoom. To get the zoom link, go to Events on our meetup site, and click that you will attend, then you can access the zoom link at the Online event icon.

We are a gathering of freethinkers and humanists, people from all faiths or none, who come together to discuss collaboratively-chosen topics, to listen with open minds, share with open hearts, work together on social activism projects and share supportive community. Our general format is a short presentation followed by an hour or so of open discussion of the subject. All are welcome, and all outlooks on the topics are respected. We aim to learn from each other and celebrate our diversity!

For more information, or to suggest topics or activities, contact:
Jim Applegate: leasecow42@gmail.com
Kalb Bair: torvannn@gmail.com
Dorothy Bracey and the Action Team: dorothy@dorothybracey.com
Roger Brumley: rellisbrumley@msn.com
Mim Chapman: mimcsf@gmail.com
Gail Funk: freethinkerssf@gmail.com
Donna Gomien: dsgomien@aol.com
Mary Ellen Gonzales: maryellengonzales@gmail.com