Welcome to Open Data Week & School of Data!
On Saturday, 7 March 2020, we are concluding NYC’s FOURTH Open Data Week with style, we are celebrating the EIGHTH anniversary of the City’s open data law and the TENTH International Open Data Day!!! Let the celebrations begin! We hope you are as excited as we are!
Get ready for 3 accessible floors, 15 rooms, and 63 Sessions!
We’ll have 2 healthy meals and a happy hour that’ll feed your soul as much as your mind!
We are grateful to have 50 dedicated volunteers to support 400+ participants and session leaders.
Don’t have tickets? Don’t worry, we still have a few available; you can register until Friday, 6 March.
Lastly, before concluding Open Data Week with us, be sure to check out an amazing collection of events and check out the thought-provoking Data Through Design show, Digital Twin – Monday – Friday, Noon to 7 PM at 357 Canal St, New York, NY 10013.
Yes, we are still hosting School of Data…
About the Day!
NYC School of Data will proceed as planned. If you have questions about COVID-19, please see the bottom of this message.
At 9:00 AM, we will open our doors for coffee and a light breakfast. Please be patient when you arrive as we process 400+ people within the first hour!
By 9:30 AM, we anticipate a queue of people standing outside. Saturday morning might be chilly; please dress accordingly. To avoid standing in line, please show up early! If you plan on joining later in the day, please bring your eventbrite ticket. We will have check-in running all day, but won’t be selling tickets at the door.
If you have a VIP / Solidarity / Session Leader / Government pass, please show the greeter, and you will be directed to a special check in. If you are a special pass holder arriving with friends or colleagues who are not special pass holders, they will have to wait in line.
At 10:00 AM, we will kick off the day with Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer, author of NYC’s Open Data Law, Commissioner Jessica Tisch from NYC Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications, NYC’s Chief Analytics Officer Kelly Jin, Dean Mary Lu Bilek from CUNY Law School, Founding President of AI for the People Mutale Nkonde, BetaNYC’s Civic Innovation Fellow Gabrielle Langston, and BetaNYC’s Executive Director Noel Hidalgo.
Thanks to the Internet Society of New York, we will be live streaming our main stage and continue streaming all day. If you can’t join us, visit < www.schoolofdata.nyc/live >.
Starting at 11:30 AM, we will begin our 62 amazing panels, workshops, classes, demos, and office hours.
At 5:30 PM, we will close with our Civic PechaKucha! We hope you stick around for a number of civic & gov tech time travelers!! We will be offering beverages to all and adult beverages to people older than 21. Please bring a government ID to get a wristband. You will not be served an adult beverage without a wristband.
We’ve written a detailed FAQ on our website. < https://schoolofdata.nyc/faq/ >.
Schedule of Sessions:
- 9:00 – Doors open with a light breakfast
- 10:00 – Keynote Session
- 11:30 – Session and Workshops 1
- 12:30 – Networking Lunch
- 1:45 – Session and Workshops 2
- 3:00 – Session and Workshops 3
- 4:15 – Session and Workshops 4
- 5:30 – Civic PechaKucha!
- 6:30 – CLOSE & Lights OUT!
For a detailed list of sessions visit < schoolofdata.nyc/schedule >.
Childcare:
If you have registered a child(ren) with childcare, we will send you a special email. If you are a parent with childcare tickets, please drop off your little hacker(s) on the second floor with Sitter Studio. For security purposes, only parents with tickets will be permitted near the childcare area. The professionals will walk you through the check-in process and keep a good eye on your little hackers.
Photo Consent Lanyards and Code of Conduct:
We will have two different lanyards for photo consent. If you consent to your image being captured, select a black lanyard. If you are hesitant about consent, select a red lanyard. Lastly, please don’t take photos of children.
At BetaNYC, we believe that everyone has a place at our events. Equality and community equity are two core components of building a vibrant civic hacker / civic technology community. By attending the NYC School of Data event, you are committing yourself to BetaNYC’s Code of Conduct and Anti-Harassment Policy.
In short, it is:
- Be respectful.
- Listen as much as you speak.
Before walking through our doors, you should read our code of conduct at < https://schoolofdata.nyc/code-of-conduct-anti-harassment-policy/ >. Violating these rules are grounds for ejection, and we’re not kidding.
Some rooms will be recorded:
You can find out which rooms will be recorded by the Internet Society of New York on our published schedule < https://nycsodata20.sched.com/ >.
BetaNYC will be actively recording rooms 1-202, 1-203, and 2-301 (Auditorium). Please note these rooms will be recorded and live streamed.
We are not recording rooms 1-204, 1-205, 2-112, 2-116, 2-119 3-114, 3-301, 3-302, and 3-115 and 3-116 (the Community Room). Note, these rooms have non-functioning cameras and microphones. Rooms 2-113, 2-115, 2-117 and 2-118 have whiteboards. Some session organizers might be recording their own sessions. Check in with them if you have any concerns.
What to bring:
NYC School of Data is a conference with a mix of panels, conversations, workshops, and projects. We recommend that you bring a:
- Refillable Water Bottle
- Hand sanitizer and pocket tissues
- Note taking equipment
- Government issued ID, if you are sticking around for the closing session and want to drink.
- Laptop and power supply, if you are attending a workshop or office hour.
Our session organizers have worked hard to manage your expectations. Refer to their session notes for more information. Sessions will have technical and non-technical aspects. As a result, some may recommend laptops. If you bring your laptop, don’t forget your power adapter!
FYI – We will not have a coat check, but we will have shared coat racks around the facility.
Speakers and facilitators, please move your presentation to google slides or put them on a USB drive. Please read Gabby’s email, you might be in a room with a projector with a 4:3 or 16:9 screen. Note, we will be providing post-it notes, sharpies, white-board markers, and blue tape.
Social Media & Event Backchannel:
Many of us will be tweeting, tune into the #nycSOdata hashtag on twitter or instagram. Also, you can join BetaNYC’s slack! Then, you can login via < betanyc.slack.com > and navigate to the #event-nycsodata channel.
Thank you event sponsors!
We would like to thank the following event sponsors. Due to their support, we are able to provide you with a low-cost, healthy, and inclusive event. We send our heartfelt thank yous to the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, CUNY Law School, ESRI, Forerunner, Qri, the Mayor’s Office of Data Analytics, and the Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer. Also, thank you Data Through Design for your partnership in this year’s Open Data Week!
Staying Healthy:
At this time, there is minimal impact and NYC School of Data will proceed as planned. We have a whole FAQ to answer a number of your questions.
Safety is a top priority for BetaNYC. We are increasing our efforts to prevent the spread of disease per NYC Health recommendations, and ask that all attendees follow these recommendations and guidelines. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and will provide updates.
In the meantime, here are some precautions we all should take.
- If you don’t want to shake someone’s hand, say “I’d rather not shake hands right now.” Also, don’t be offended if someone doesn’t shake your hand.
- Wash your hands. We will have extra hand sanitizer for all participants.
- Please read the CDC’s coughing and sneezing etiquette. < https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/hygiene/etiquette/coughing_sneezing.html >
- Lastly, if you are sick, STAY HOME. If you have other questions, please see our FAQ.
You should take care of yourself and you should read the CDC’s facts about COVID-19. Influenza and coronavirus are serious viruses that do not discriminate, nor should you. Also, be courteous to all who choose to take care of themselves in the way they feel comfortable. < https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/share-facts.html >