Code for Africa, Radiant.Earth aim to grow data journalism in Africa

Code for Africa and Radiant.Earth have announced their partnership to harness open Earth imagery and tools for improved decision-making, as well as better insight and transparency.

Their combined efforts will focus on research for new and innovative applications of Earth observation data to support investigative journalism and storytelling, as well as capacity development.

Jacopo Ottaviani, CCO of Code for Africa, said:

“Media organizations are constantly evolving, worldwide. Journalists, as well as citizens, now have access to an immense volume of data. It is essential to build their capacities and equip them with the knowledge and tools to research, refine, visualize and interpret the data,” added Ottavian

“Our new partnership with Radiant.Earth pleases us; because we believe that geospatial data and open Earth imagery can be turned into a crucial tool for storytelling. Radiant.Earth’s team of experts can lead us to new, groundbreaking discoveries in Africa and beyond”.

Both Code for Africa and Radiant.Earth aim to transform the way data are consumed by civil society; to empower informed decision-making, efficient service delivery, and location-based analytics to solve social, economic, and environmental challenges. However, while Radiant.Earth has a global focus, Code for Africa directs its attention to affiliate labs in Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda.

Code for Africa’s integrated approach to civic technology development in Africa is breaking new ground every day. Their method is to empower ordinary citizens by creating technological capacity within civil society and the media, to enable them to produce extensive knowledge that will help them shape governments and improve their services to citizens.

Radiant.Earth is well-positioned to support Code for Africa’s efforts; the two organizations share a desire for transparency to enact change. The company offers an open technology platform that facilitates innovation and solutions by combining the best in discovery and dissemination with the latest trends in image processing and analysis. Radiant.Earth strives to identify and connect new users interested in serving citizens facing socio-economic and environmental challenges using geospatial technology.

Anne Hale Miglarese, Founder and CEO of Radiant.Earth, said:

“We are looking forward to working with Code for Africa. They are changing the way information is disseminated and consumed in Africa; leading the charge for transformative impact locally. Together, we can strengthen our capabilities and cultivate a community of practitioners dedicated to transparency and accountability on the ground.”

The sharing of tools and ideas will augment each organization’s mission; through capitalizing on the unique resources and knowledge-base that they bring to this partnership.

The identified thematic areas for cooperation include; humanitarian disaster management, conflict monitoring, urbanization and population growth. Other areas include: health, climate change, sustainability land rights, agriculture and land rights and matters environment.