In this issue, we talk about the state of Democracy in the world, the kleptocracy of some Russian oligarchs, and we review our analysis of Colombia’s National Data Infrastructure Plan.

Data governance

Open data is fundamental for transparency, accountability, and social control, therefore clear governance focused on citizens' concerns is necessary.

If you want to know the findings of the analysis of the new National Data Infrastructure Plan of Colombia, which we conducted together with the Karisma Foundation and other research in Latin America on this topic, join us!

📆 Day: Thursday, March 31.

⌚ Time: 9:00 h (mx) | 10:00 h (col) | 12:00 h (uy)

📹 Webinar: The Future of Data Governance in Latin America (es)

Democracy in decline

The independent research institute, V-Dem, has published the 2022 edition of its Democracy Report, and it comes to confirm what some reports highlighted in our February issue already anticipated: the level of democracy in the world has dropped.

The V-Dem measures democracy in dimensions: electoral, liberal, participatory, egalitarian and deliberative, and it has been going downhill since 2012. According to the data provided, the percentage of the population living in countries in autocratization increased by more than 30% in ten years, to 1989 levels by 2021. Poland, Hungary, and Brazil are the countries with the greatest drop in their level of democracy since that year.

Some critical points pointed out are the lack of independence and censorship of the media; the difficulty of the executive to carry out clean elections; the lack of separation and distribution of powers; polarization; and the lack of respect for the constitution on the part of the executive.

Kleptocracy of Russian oligarchs

The war in Ukraine is now a month old. Beyond the terrible consequences in the country, it highlights other serious problems affecting our societies, such as racism, forced migration, supply crisis, multiple inequalities, and corruption.

One of the pressure actions carried out by several governments to stop the war has been the imposition of sanctions on Russian oligarchs. This has not been an easy task, as assets are hidden in offshore corporate structures, secret accounts, and protected armies of lawyers.

Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project has presented this investigation, in which media from 20 countries have participated, such as Le Monde, The Guardian, or infoLibre. They have followed the trail of this type of asset from a list of eleven names drawn up by the Anti-Corruption Foundation. They have found assets valued at more than $17.5 billion, in superyachts, mansions, or helicopters.

DATAVIZ

GLASS CEILING IN OECD COUNTRIES

The Economist’s Glass Ceiling Index measures the role and influence of women in the workforce in the richest OECD countries.

OGP

Handbook for Reformers

OGP has launched its new handbook designed to help reformers in government and civil society navigate the process of building a National Action Plan. It consists of seven parts and includes guidance, examples, templates, and information on the minimum requirements for all key moments in the OGP engagement process.

Want to read more?

Workforce

• 👷🏽‍♀️ In which EU regions do people work less and get paid more? | European Data Journalism

Health

• 💊 Covid-19 spread twice as fast in Greek prisons | European Data Journalism
• 👩🏽‍🦰 Covid-19 and the female poverty trap | Covid-19 and Innovation Centre

Resources

• 🤝🏽 What are ‘bottom-up’ data institutions and how do they empower people? | The ODI
• 📕 Open Contracting Quickstart Guide |Open Contracting Partnership

Data Privacy

• ⚠ FACT SHEET: United States and European Commission Announce Trans-Atlantic Data Privacy Framework | The White House

That's all for now!

This issue was written by Laura Ortiz, and JP Marín Díaz. We have other content that may interest you in our blog and newsletters.

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