Thinking of open data as the treetops in the Estonian forest.

Once inside the theater, which now hosts local and international performances, we were guided to the second floor, where we found ourselves lying in complete darkness. Looking up at the ceiling of a splendid hall, which combined Art Nouveau motifs with classical elements, we saw a circular mural by the Estonian artist Johann Köler that occupied most of the ceiling. According to our guide, during the renovations of the Sakala Theater House in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, Köler was commissioned to paint a mural that would represent life in Estonia to theater visitors.

Köler painted the mural during the Estonian National Awakening period. He initially considered depicting revolutionary scenes reflecting a political awakening of the emerging nation. However, he ultimately chose to paint a simpler scene that would resonate with most Estonians. The mural depicts the treetops in an Estonian forest as viewed from below, connecting to the everyday lives of Estonian people who explored the nearby forests of Tallinn as a common leisure activity. Köler chose the simplicity of everyday life over depicting a glorious nascent nation. From my perspective, Köler’s decision about the mural can metaphorically represent the current landscape in the open government movement, which includes open data as one of the enabling factors.

The OGP Global Summit brought together partnership members from 72 countries, including government officials, civil society organizations, and founding organizations focused on development. Throughout the event, I noticed two main discourses related to open governance. The first centered on technology-driven perspectives, touching on topics such as digitalized government, for example, the Ukrainian initiative “Diia” – a mobile app aiming to provide citizens access to all public services or the use of AI systems for public sector accountability. Additionally, this perspective emphasized public values such as democracy, freedom of expression, transparency, and trust. Interestingly, there was no representation of technology organizations and companies behind such technologies. The second perspective focused on community-driven efforts. The discussions revolved around building capabilities, financial sustainability, participation, and changing power dynamics. Civil society organizations, citizens, and local government practitioners took center stage in these conversations. I distinctly remember a local public officer expressing appreciation for finally being recognized as an important voice in the summit’s discussions.