Today the Data Values Project published the #DataValues Manifesto and launched the first global campaign calling for placing people’s interests at the heart of data for development.

This is the result of a year of public consultation where the Data Values Project asked people what changes were needed to create fair data systems around the world. More than 300 people from at least 60 countries responded overwhelmingly that there’s an urgent need to address power imbalances that often lead to people being harmed, excluded, and disempowered by data. 

“For far too long we’ve pressed for more and better data at the expense of ensuring that people’s interests lie at the heart of our data activities,” Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data CEO Claire Melamed said. “This campaign harnesses the collective power of the data community to call for the specific actions we must take to chart a course to achieve Sustainable Development Goals and ensure no one is left behind.” 

The #DataValues Manifesto and global campaign focus on prompting companies, governments, organizations, and others to take steps to place people’s interests at the heart of data for development. The Manifesto calls for each to: 

  • Support people to shape how they’re represented in data.
  • Invest in public participation for accountability. 
  • Democratize data skills for greater equality. 
  • Create cultures of transparency, data sharing, and use. 
  • Fund open and responsive data systems so that all people share in the benefits of data.

Stories from people who directly weighed in on the campaign are available on the campaign website. These are people like Gwen Phillips in Canada, who’s worked for more than two decades to establish First Nations’ rights over data, and Eric Ndawula in Uganda, who is asking governments to protect LGBTQ+ people through data and create policies that address their needs. Explore their stories here.

 

The campaign launched today at an official side event of the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. For photos of the event, or to interview people with direct experience of the campaign, please contact: Jennifer Oldfield (M: +13473276568, joldfield@data4sdgs.org).