GOOD21 Conference Program
The GOOD 2021 conference theme is “Open for Community Wellbeing”
This year’s conference will start with a new feature – Thursday plenary pre-conference workshops so you’re able to attend all that interest you.
The main conference on Friday begins with plenary morning of panels – Keynotes, Action Panel on Community Wellbeing and a Youth Panel. The afternoon will start off with lightning talks on diverse subjects, followed by an exciting panel on Ethical AI and a closing ChangeMaker panel.
Day three, Saturday, continues the tradition of holding a Hackathon that speaks to some community challenges and seeks to move the yardsticks forward and establish action plans to continue the work post- conference.
NOTE: Most of the program is confirmed but the program may change at any time.
Data and Information Governance in the Public Interest
This session will introduce and explore basic concepts as well as key challenges and opportunities associated with data governance, data management, information governance and information management from a public sector perspective.
Speakers:
Anne Hepplewhite, Manager Records and Property
Hamilton Police Service
Steven Coutts, Research Analyst
Open North Research Lab


BREAK
Open Data Standards - A reboot
Data standards continue to be a challenge for the open data community. Join the panel for an exploration of current state including recent studies prototypes, NG 9-1-1, app developer perspectives and dealing with diverse data sets within a federated open data portal.
Speakers:
Sasha Einwechter, General Manager Information Technology
City of Guelph
Joseph Kuchar, Analyst
Statistics Canada
Alex Brossault, Program Manager, GIS and Data
City of Guelph



BREAK
GIS Visualization & Analytics for COVID-19 using Open and Commercial Data
The workshop will use the COVID-19 Resources Hub (resources-covid19canada.hub.arcgis.com) as a platform to examine how Open Data, Commercial Data and GIS tools for visualization and analytics come together to better understand all aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic. This workshop will use live examples to demonstrate:
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- How to construct early warning dashboards to understand the distribution of at-risk populations
- How temporal analysis is used to predict trends and how the pandemic is spreading
- How socio-economic factors contribute to the hesitancy and accessibility of COVID-19 vaccinations.
The workshop will be facilitated by Esri Canada:
Chris North, Director, Technology Adoption
Paul Voegtle, Product Specialist – Location Analytics
Sumaiya Siddiqi, Technical Solutions Specialist



BREAK
COVID-19 Open Data Ecosystem - Process, Policy & Data Gaps
Every organization and individual has been affected by COVID-19 in more than
one way. An open data ecosystem is essential, now more than ever, to
ensure Canadians are informed about and can respond to these
unprecedented circumstances. Importantly, the pandemic has reinforced
the growing need to situate the open data conversation within the
context of those managing and coordinating a complex multi-stakeholder
and multi-jurisdictional response to the pandemic.
This workshop will focus on the social and economic impact of the pandemic and share the perspectives of two guest speakers,
who play key roles in coordinating the government and social sector response to COVID-19. Join us to learn
about the challenges of these social and economic realities and collaboratively reflect on how the open
data community can or could play a role in identifying processes, policies, and datasets that connect
open data and community well-being at this stage of the pandemic and for its successful recovery.
Co-facilitated by
Dr. Tracey Lauriault, Associate Professor Critical Media and Big Data
Carleton University
Jean-Noé Landry, Executive Director, Open North
with
Muna Osman, Researcher & Impact Analyst
Equity Ottawa
Jason Prince, Director, Advisory Services and Financing
PME MTL




Get Oriented with PheedLoop - Our Virtual Conference Platform
Conference Opening & Welcome
Keith McDonald, Master of Ceremonies
GOOD Director of Communications
Jury Konga, Executive Director
GO Open Data Association (GOOD)
Welcome from Province of Ontario
Hillary Hartley, Chief Digital and Data Officer
Deputy Minister, Ontario Digital Service (Treasury Board Secretariat)



Leaders Keynote Panel
Being open and enhancing Community Well-being is an ongoing challenge with many different perspectives. Join the Leaders Keynote panel in looking at these different perspectives in this complex ecosystem of community well-being.
Moderator
Sameer Vasta Lead, Employee Experience
Ontario Digital Service
Keynote Speakers
Dr. Jayne Engle, Director of Cities for People
McConnell Foundation
Robyn Rowe, Indigenous Data Team Lead
Health Data Research Network Canada
Veronica Cretu, Director of Strategy & Partnerships
Global Data Barometer




Networking Break
Action Panel for Community Well-being
There are many different communities and diverse factors impacting them. Join this action panel speaking to current state of our communities and what we need to do to improve our collective community well-being.
Moderator
Tracey Lauriault, Associate Professor Critical Media and Big Data
Carleton University
Panelists
Alison Sidney, Director Strategic Initiatives
Community Foundations of Canada
Mai Phan (she/her)
GO Open Data Lead
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Brenda McPhail, Director
Privacy, Surveillance, and Technology Program
Canadian Civil Liberties Association
Keith Brooks, Programs Director
environmental defence





Networking Break
Youth Panel
Today’s youth are faced with an uncertain future which for many seems daunting. Many youth are advocating and acting on the need for change – we need to listen to them!
Moderator
Christopher Duff, Executive Lead
Canadian Council for Youth Prosperity
Youth speakers
Terence D’Souza, University of Ottawa
Myra Ribeiro, Holy Trinity Catholic Secondary School
Kirsten Kelly (they/them), Assumption Catholic Secondary School




BREAK
Open Mic + Sponsors
Here’s your opportunity to tell the conference about some news around open – sign up by emailing connect@go-opendata.ca
Open Lightning Talks
There’s so much knowledge to share! To assist in creating awareness of initiatives contributing to community well-being and all things open, there are 5 lightning talks (5′ duration) and some time at the end for Q&A
Moderator
Richard Pietro, Founder
Re Open Gov
Speakers
Circular Economy
Barbara Swartzentruber, Executive Director
Smart Cities Office, City of Guelph
Ontario Hubs
Laurie Few, Executive Producer Digital
TV Ontario (TVO)
Personal Data Empowerment
Hessie Jones, Co-founder
MyData Canada
Data Literacy
Ab Velasco, Manager Innovation
Toronto Public Library





BREAK
Ethical AI
AI has been with us for years and now it’s become so mainstream that serious policy and enforcement concerns are consuming the “airways”. This illustrious panel to speak to how pervasive AI is in society, why we should be concerned, what might be appropriate policies and guidelines and how these ill impact individual and community well-being.
Moderator
Stefaan G Verhulst
Co-founder amd Chief Research and Development Officer
The Governance Lab (GovLab)
Speakers
Amy Bihari Lead, Open Data & Responsible AI
Ontario Digital Service
Keith McDonald, Founder
LiteracyAI
Ana Brandusescu, 2019-2021 McConnell Professor of Practice, CIRM
McGill University




BREAK
ChangeMaking Panel
The world is not perfect. The open community is trying hard but we’re not there yet. This insightful panel of changemakers will speak to the future – short and long term. We need this!
Moderator
Keith McDonald, Conference MC
Panelists
Aimee Whitcroft, Advisory Board Member
International Open Data Charter
Nabeel Ahmed, Senior Program Officer
Open North
Christine Hagyard, Senior Manager, Data Access and Analytics
Ontario Digital Service




Closing Remarks
Keith McDonald, Conference MC
Networking - Join Us in the GOODcafé
Conference End
GOOD21 Community Well-being Hackathon
Everyone is welcome to contribute to the
GOOD21 Community Well-being Hackathon
It’s FREE
Sign up for our Saturday, May 8th virtual hackathon and apply your passion and talent to one of several community well-being challenges GOOD is hosting. Alternatively, pitch your own challenge. Join a team in a breakout room and/or interact with lightning talk presenters in the main room. Voting and post-hackathon celebrations to take place between 5pm and 6pm.
More details will follow on this page. If you have any questions or suggestions, contact us at connect@go-opendata.ca
Welcome, Acknowledgement & Introductions
Review Process
Challenge Overviews
Join us to hear the Hackathon Challenge Pitches
- How might we use AI assets in the Ontario Open Data Catalogue in an ethical and inclusive way?
- How might we use open data to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for disabled people?
- How might we gather people’s knowledge to focus the community on solving a local problem?
- How might we reboot the GOOD Our Open Hub into an information clearinghouse website that can be replicated for other themes?
BREAK
Challenges Start - Choose Your Breakout Room
Working Lunch
Optional: Lightning Talk Panel
You have the option of watching the lightning talks OR continue working on your challenge.
Moderator:
Laurie Few, Executive Producer, Digital
TV Ontario (TVO)

Speakers:
Gillian Wu, UX Design Fellow
Code for Canada
Jude Keefe, Research Assistant
City of Guelph-Wellington County circular food economy project
Alessandro Alasia, Assistant Director
Centre for Special Business Projects, Statistics Canada.
Megan Linton, Carleton University
Justin Miron, GIS & Data Specialist
Durham Region
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More details on the speakers
Gillian Wu is a UX Design Fellow at Code for Canada. She is currently working with the government to improve public participation tools for national energy projects and build digital capacity within the organization. In the past Gillian has worked at the enterprise, agency and startup level. In her free time, she likes to explore new places, and is an avid hiker.
Jude Keefe is a Research Assistant and Social Researcher with an MA in Geography. She is currently associated with the City of Guelph-Wellington County circular food economy project Our Food Future DataHub; the Ivey Business School at Western University’s research in spatial relationships of circular waste exchanges in Montreal; and Shared Value Solutions consultations on traditional knowledge land use studies with Indigenous participants on producing map biographies and composite study area maps. Jude’s user experience as an avid pedestrian and seasonal cyclist and a licensed driver without a personal vehicle has shaped her systems thinking approach to issues ranging from food security, distribution logistics for home delivery, and active lifestyle transportation choices.
Alessandro Alasia is Assistant Director at the Centre for Special Business Projects, Statistics Canada. He has a PhD in Agricultural Economics with specialization in Rural Studies. Over the past ten years, he has led several research and innovation projects with Statistics Canada. In his free time, he enjoys the outdoors with his two boys and wife in the forests around his cottage.
Megan Linton is an Ottawa-based disabled writer, researcher, and community organizer. Her work focuses on the intersection of data, disability, and institutionalization. Her current work harnesses open science to understand the impacts of COVID-19 on disabled people. Megan writes and contributes regularly to CBC radio, Canadian Dimension and Data Libre.
Justin Miron is a GIS and Data Specialist at the Region of Durham. He currently works on publishing Open Data and apps that make it easier to access and understand the Region’s data. Trained as a landscape architect and as an environmental scientist, Justin has previously worked on many interdisciplinary projects, in both the private and public sector, that focus on enhancing the understanding and experience of the natural environments in our cities. Justin believes that anyone can contribute meaningfully to any challenge or problem if they are given the right tools and opportunity.”