In part 2 of this series, Eve Little and Yoann Tsika from the UK Data Service continue their conversation with the Open Knowledge Foundation, focusing on the School of Data and AI Learning Labs.
Part 1 of this series explored the pressures shaping open knowledge today – from AI and data privacy laws to institutional barriers – and how the Open Knowledge Foundation’s decentralised global network responds to these challenges.
In conversation with
Renata Ávila |
Lucas Pretti |
Patricio Del Boca |
|
Haydée Svab |
Nikesh Balami |
The contributors to this conversation bring together expertise spanning technology, governance, civic advocacy and open knowledge practice.
On the Open Knowledge Foundation side, Renata Ávila is the CEO, Lucas Pretti is the Director of Communications, Institutional Relations and Advocacy, and Patricio Del Boca is the Technical lead.
Representing OKFN’s wider network, Haydée Svab is Governance Board Member of Open Knowledge Brasil and Nikesh Balami is co-founder and CEO of Open Knowledge Nepal.
The School of Data
The School of Data is one of the Open Knowledge Foundation’s (OKFN) longest running initiatives, created to advance data literacy within civil society. Rather than operating as a conventional training programme, it functions as a global learning network – centred on practice, reflection and collaboration.
From the outset, the initiative emerged from attempts to work across technical and non-technical communities, and the gaps that became visible in that process.
“The School of Data is a reflection on our attempt to talk with other communities and realising that those communities have a huge gap in technological knowledge and access and therefore there is a need for literacy.” – Patricio Del Boca
The focus on literacy as a starting point resonated strongly across the OKFN team. Reflecting on the early days of Open Knowledge Nepal, Nikesh Balami described how School of Data activities emerged directly from local needs:
“We started initially from lots of advocacy and literacy activities because Nepal back then was not that digitally savvy so we started doing lots of the digital literacy activities as part of the School of Data movement.” – Nikesh Balami
Over time, this reflective approach has allowed OKFN to adapt the School of Data to the evolving challenges facing open knowledge, explored in part 1 of this series, including how people build confidence in working with complex and emerging technologies such as AI.
Why AI changes the literacy question
Across the conversation, the OKFN team were clear that AI literacy cannot simply be treated as an extension of earlier data skills work. The pace of change, concentration of power and unsettled norms around AI introduce new forms of uncertainty.
“Learning about AI is very different from the early days of data literacy. It’s more complex and more uncertain and I’m always suspicious of anyone who claims authority on the topic because we are all still learning, even the most expert of the expert.” – Renata Ávila
For public sector organisations, engaging with AI raises questions that are rarely purely technical. Decisions about whether, how and when to use these systems are bound up with trust, transparency and organisational identity.
“Organisations know that AI could help them, but they don’t know if they can rely on it.[…] Do we use it? How do we use it? When do we use it? How do we tell others that we are using it? Are we going to lose our identity in the process?” – Renata Ávila
That demand for practical, values-led guidance is shaping Open Knowledge Brasil’s work:
“At Open Knowledge Brasil, we are currently developing an AI data literacy initiative for third-sector organisations. We recognise that there is a demand for this: many people approach us looking for protocols, recommendations, suggestions, pilot projects or policy guidance to help them navigate the world of AI.” – Haydée Svab
These questions point to a need for spaces that support critical engagement and shared learning, rather than presenting AI as a settled or purely technical solution.
AI Learning Labs
In response, OKFN has developed AI Learning Labs – collaborative pilots designed to support organisations working through real, high stakes questions about AI in practice.
Rather than delivering standardised training or prescriptive guidance, the Labs are intentionally structured around collective discovery.
“Instead of a one-size-fits all, one hour course learning about AI, what we are offering is a process of collective and community discovery on the impact of these technologies. We are discovering many things that you cannot find in any written material at the moment” – Renata Ávila
The aim is not to produce identical outcomes across contexts, but to generate learning that can travel. Insights from the Labs are intended to inform wider practice through shared methods and adaptable resources made available in the School of Data.
“The AI Learning Labs are both a learning experience for us and for the people collaborating with us on the project.[…] What we are trying to do is develop reproducible methodologies to address these problems. The final outcomes will vary. For some projects it might be a process, for others it might be guidance or a set of recommendations.” – Renata Ávila
Looking ahead
The AI Learning Labs remain intentionally experimental, shaped by what emerges through practice rather than predefined solutions. Their future direction will be guided by what is learned across different pilots and regions.
“It is still experimental and we are just going to run four pilots in different parts of the world and we will see if that is a viable way that could scale. In any case, we are learning a lot from the experience.” – Renata Ávila
At the heart of this work is a long-standing conviction that runs through OKFN’s approach to openness, technology and learning:
“The Open Knowledge Foundation have always been firm believers on the ability of people to make technology theirs and reclaim power over it, shape it and embed their values in it.” – Renata Ávila
Together, the School of Data and the AI Learning Labs show how OKFN is translating open principles into practice: through decentralised learning, shared experimentation and a commitment to openness as a means of building agency – not just access.
We were in conversation with
Renata Ávila is the CEO of OKFN, an international human rights and technology lawyer and openness advocate, helping individuals and organisations use data to address pressing social problems and preserve human rights through open standards and advocacy.
A former fellow of the Stanford Institute for Human-Centred Artificial Intelligence, she is associated with the Center for Internet and Society at CNRS, France. Renata co-founded the <A+> Alliance for Inclusive Algorithms and the Progressive International, and has co-authored two books and contributed to several others.
Lucas Pretti is the Director of Communications, Institutional Relations & Advocacy at OKFN, a journalist, researcher and openness advocate passionate about building open infrastructure for communities and establishing broad coalitions to drive systemic change.
Over the past 20 years, Lucas has been involved in a variety of commons-based initiatives fighting for power distribution and people’s participation in decision-making. He is currently a PhD candidate in Arts, Literature and Cultural Studies at the Autonomous University of Madrid.
Patricio Del Boca is Technical Leader and Open Advocate at the Open Knowledge Foundation.
Information Systems Engineering with over 10 years experience in technology, open data and artificial intelligence, both in the private sector and in civil society. Member of the technical team of CKAN, the world’s leading open source data management system. Speaker and presenter at international events promoting the use of free software, open data, and technological sovereignty.
Haydée Svab is a Governance Board Member of Open Knowledge Brazil and a specialist in the intersection of technology, data, and public policy.
With over ten years of experience, she leads projects focused on open data, civic technology, urban mobility, and health. Co-founder of ASK-AR Consultancy and RLadies São Paulo Chapter, she advocates for open knowledge as a fundamental tool for building more democratic societies.
Nikesh Balami is the Co-founder and CEO of Open Knowledge Nepal, a civic entrepreneur, open data advocate and tech researcher.
A passionate supporter of open source software, Nikesh believes in the power of open knowledge to empower citizens through technology and open data. Outside of work, Nikesh enjoys coffee chats, hackathons, blogging, travelling, and all things related to open data.
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