This Revolution is by design, not by chance.
“Sometimes it takes a few trees to brave the elements, for a forest to ultimately grow.”

This Revolution is by design, not by chance.

Three years ago, a couple of us: Dr. Sanjeev KhagramDr. Paul Zeitz huddled over Skype, imaging what it could be, if Governments, Civil Society, Citizens, academia and technologists would come together to tackle the everyday challenges of citizens.

It is said that perhaps the universe conspires to make things happen, when the time has come for an idea to be brought into existence.

A couple of more Skype calls later, some brave decisions, especially between Paul and I to leave our comforts of civil society and private sector, to join the unchartered waters of Government, was what it took, to start moving the levers of this revolution.

This movement was however not linear as there were also a few who had, earlier on, already begun writing the scripts of the Revolution: Dr. Claire Melamed, Shaida Badee (fondly known as Mama Data), Philipp SchonrockDavid McNair within the corridors of the United Nations.

Three years later, with brave moments of vanguard fundraising, leaps of faith (by the likes of Rosemary Orlale), galvanizing political leaders, dozens of speeches, talking points and oo.. the MEMOs, the revolution has now been embodied in the form of an institution.

Undoubtedly, as in any revolution, there were turbulent times of protest, of dissent, but also of new notions and new pathways that were curved. It is the first time that Governments have consciously used the words “revolution” in official documents and statements by high level officials.

As the Government of the United States and now Kenya go through the uncertainties of transition, the revolution must be sustained.

In my view, a revolution feeds off the collective energies of the many who have been inspired along the way and while the culture of engagement demanded an organization as the formal expression of the revolution, the movement must continue be sustained by the many, beyond the turbulence of transitions to a cultural artifact.

The grand strategy over the years has been to ensure that the wisdom of the crowd guarantees its longevity. The more the adoption by different countries and stakeholder, the more accessible is the energy that fuels the revolution.

While there are a few who have reached out with either concerns of what the future holds, my humble response is that future must always be unwritten; The wisdom of unknown is often the best equalizer; the less we know, the more we are open to searching, listening, exploring and even letting go.

The true essence of the data revolution, beyond its curators is to the extent that it benefits those who have been in the peripheries of development. It must never be about the holders of the vision; that has been the folly of the founding fathers and mothers of struggles, who have made causes about themselves at the expense of the intended outcome.

At a deeply personal level, when  Brian Kagoro and  Tajudeen Abdul Rahimchallenged some of us a couple of years ago on what the New Pan Africanism could be, it never dawned on me that it could be embodied in a tool or technology that we never created. In actual fact, it is a reflection of what we seem to do best: They often said that Africa consumes what it does not produce and it produces what it does not consume.

By design, Africa has been thrust into the center of a brave new world of data, not as a recipient, but an equal partner, thinker and trailblazer. Therefore, regardless of what the future holds, or what history would be written, it is my belief that the seeds of revolt and disruption have been planted.

The Data Revolution akin to the times of our founding fathers has transcend the anglophone, francophone and all the phones divide, connected east and west, north and south, created a language that has enabled an intergenerational dialogue and conversations across sectors. It has began to rekindle the spirit of the 60s, when time was new in Africa and hope was born in the aspiration of ending disease, illiteracy and poverty.

The data revolution must therefore, at least in the African Context, continue to exist by design and not by chance. As Kogoro often reminds us, we must desist from being resolutionaries, but strive to be revolutionaries.

It is up to everyone to learn from past revolutions, that spotlight and exciting moments of planting the seeds must also be followed by invisible and unceremonious hard work of ensuring that they are watered, nourished and monitored until they are fully grown.

Kenya or even the US may have been at the center of the initial phases of the Revolution: new countries, players must also give new winds to its sails. The baton must always be passed.

In hind sight, it also takes faith, prayer and little bit of luck! and so in the worlds of Effie Trinket, May the odds be ever in your favor.


Aleem Walji

Scaling Innovations in Learning

5y

Excited to learn more today Philip. How far we’ve come since Open Data at the bank in 2009. Excited to learn more.

Chris Otundo

Chief Executive Officer | Board Member | Executive Coach

6y

"By design, Africa has been thrust into the center of a brave new world of data, not as a recipient, but an equal partner, thinker and trailblazer. " - This is truly profound. That this time we can indeed lead the charge. I too subscribe to this idea. Thank you for the great work you are doing.

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