Given this we're in the final days of Sunshine Week in the U.S., this post on the Mapping Hacks blog suggests that things are stirring elsewhere.
By Jo on open knowledge
Public Geodata published an Open Letter regarding the INSPIRE Directive to the Members of the ENVI committee in the European Parliament
this morning. I got to sleep after dawn after hitting
’send’ – collaborating with people in Europe from an East
Coast base means a lot of very late nights or very early mornings.
When i woke up this afternoon, i had an inbox full of people
excitedly sending me references to today’s Guardian article on What Price Information? which gives a good shoutout to publicgeodata.org
and represents the first time I’ve seen the debate around the
proposed INSPIRE Directive in mainstream media. Inspired by so many
efforts to gain public access to publically funded information in the
UK, perhaps sensing a movement in the air, the Graun have started their
own campaigning effort to Free Our Data.
Geographic information is what most people are really keen to get
access to – not only because it has so much potential economic and
research value if it’s made openly available, but also because
geodata provides a key to unlocking the meaning and the value of many
other kinds of public sector information.I can’t express how much
luck i wish them in their galvanising efforts.
Chris Corbin wrote to the Euro-GI-Policy
list today about questions finally being asked in Parliament about how
the Ordnance Survey is approaching the INSPIRE directive. I look
forward to seeing the written answers provided to Parliament, and hope
they come through before the crucial vote on the INSPIRE second reading amendments next Tuesday, 21st March… I’ll add a reference to the appropriate TheyWorkForYou Q/A listing here, when the answers appear.”
