Announcing Open Data Event, Enschede (NL)

Together with several civil servants of my home city we've been busy getting open government data on the agenda locally. We did a session during last month's Open Innovation Festival, and are now trying to move it forward with a few other people we met up with because of that.

In September or October this year we will organize a local Open Data event.
On a Saturday we will have an event with two streams. One to present basic insights and experiences with open data, and to discuss issues open data creates for both governments and data re-users. And a second stream to actually create concepts and applications based on local open government data. In the run-up we will make sure that a number of interesting data sets will be available.
The week after that Saturday, groups of students from the local university for applied sciences (Saxion) will work for a week on applications that use open government data, earnig study credits. At the end of that week everything that was made will be presented.

We know from Canadian cities like Vancouver that open government data is a very powerful thing on the local level. It is where data is directly connected to your living environment. With this event we hope to demonstrate the potential of open data, raise the awareness about open data with local government, as well as create value for our city by building working applications.

Open Data Enschede is organized as a private initiative by Patrick Reijnders, Peter Breukers and Lars Fehse (Municipality of Enschede), Heinze Havinga (student in Enschede), and me.

Are you interested in this event in any way? Do let me know!

FabLab Arnhem Becomes Fifth Dutch FabLab

Today the FabLab Arnhem officially opened. FabLab Arnhem is housed at the HAN, university for applied sciences in Arnhem. With great enthusiasm a large group of people at the HAN worked to make it happen, and today that effort came to fruition.

In the presence of Glorianna Davenport, of MIT's Medialab, the birthplace of the FabLab concept, Ella Hueting and Titia Bredee, directors of the faculty for technology and education respectively signed the license of the Dutch FabLab Foundation, that is connected to using the FabLab name.
For the Dutch FabLab Foundation I had the honor of signing the license granting Arnhem FabLab status. Sadly I could not be present in person, as I was just returning from presenting FabLab at Lift 10 in Marseille. But immediately after landing in Amsterdam I connected with FabLab Arnhem through Skype, so I could see the proceedings in the FabLab, and they could see me sign the license in front of the camera.

Glorianna Davenport talking, Titia Bredee showing the signed license, me doing the same on the screen.

FabLab Arnhem will open to the public five days a week in September. They will be busy finishing the installation of all necessary machines and equipment until then. But today was the official opening with a lot of people attending. More pictures are available.

Toasting the new FabLab Arnhem, ltr Ella Hueting (director of technology), Inez Kohlmann (FabLab project leader), Glorianna Davenport (MIT Medialab), Titia Bredee (director of education)

FabLab Arnhem is the fifth FabLab in the Netherlands, and combined with the two FabLabs in Belgium, and the mobile FabLab, the eighth FabLab in the BeNeLux.
We are happy to welcome the FabLab Arnhem at the HAN into the network!

(all pictures in this posting by Hans Mestrum)

Public Transport Bicycles

In a regular week I travel quite a bit within the Netherlands. Thanks to the extensive rail network, I do most of that by train (using the car maybe once per 2 months). For some of my destinations I can easily walk from the rail station, but for others less so. There are of course buses, or trams, and taxis, but usually they are relatively time consuming, inflexible or expensive (taxis).

My bicycle today at Zwolle rail station

In the past 6 months or so, I've added something to the mix of my modes of transport that greatly enhances flexibility and has reduced cost: the public transport bike. These are sturdy bikes you can pick up at any railway station in the Netherlands. They usually also have battery powered scooters if cycling isn't your thing, or you need to cover a bit more distance. Over the past 6 months I've used them in six or so different cities on various occasions and each time they've been comfortable and easy. To me they're the perfect inner city solution.

Here's how it works:

• You register with the railway company and pay a 9 Euro subscription.


• You either get a subscription card, or (as in my case) the subscription is connected to the barcode on my rail card.


• At your destination you pick up a bike, have your card and the rfid-enabled key of the bike lock scanned, and you're on your way. (At unmanned rail stations you use your card to open up a locker that contains the bicycle.)


• You go where you need to go, and upon leaving by train return your bike. The bike is scanned again.


• For the first 24 hours the cost of lending the bike is just under 2 Euro.


• Each month I get an e-mail with an invoice listing where and when I used a bicycle. The amount is then automatically deducted from my bank account.

OV = Openbaar Vervoer = Public Transport, fiets = bicycle

All in all it's extremely easy, and it adds only about 2 euro to the cost of my train trips, while saving me lots of time as well as money and making me more flexible.