Topic: Gray Hat Social Media – Surveying Online Political Discourse in the Public Interest Social media has become the place where we see news and talk politics, but it is also rife with intrigue and manipulation. In this presentation, Dr Alexei Abrahams will share with you the tools and techniques being developed by public interest […]

Topic: Would data help you depute at City Council meetings? At this talk, Veronica Yeung (an employee on the City of Toronto's Open Data team) will talk about the reports that City staff write to support City Council's decision making – what are they? How do they fit into the democratic process? Where can you […]

Topic: Climate Voting Records Toronto Climate Voting Records Toronto (https://votingrecords.climatefast.ca/) is your go-to interactive tool for tracking how Toronto City Council votes on crucial climate and environmental policies. Stay informed, hold the mayor and councillors accountable, and see where they stand on key issues like transit, cycling, food, TransformTO, energy, climate justice, and more. Speaker: […]

Topic: Crowdsorsa Katja Boutou introduces Crowdsorsa – an innovative platform that uses gamification and crowdsourcing to tackle environmental and infrastructure challenges. Through paid microtasks, citizens collect data or take action—such as mapping invasive species, assessing road conditions, or removing harmful plants—helping municipalities and organizations address pressing issues efficiently and affordably. Speaker: Katja Boutou is a […]

Topic: Crowdsourcing care: Solving healthcare service gaps with open data and civic tech Join us for a talk about open data and civic tech as we look at Fern, a crowdsourced web app designed to help residents of Toronto find family doctors who are currently accepting new patients. With over 2 million Ontarians without a family […]

Topic: NAP Time! An opportunity to provide input into the commitments of Canada's 2025-29 National Action Plan (NAP) on Open Government! Join in the discussion and have your say on where you would like to see improved transparency, accountability, and public participation in the Government of Canada in four key areas: • Meaningful and Inclusive […]

Topic: BDO Canada + Civictech Toronto Can Turn Policy into Code using GenAI At BenCon 2024, BDO Canada and Civictech Toronto presented two groundbreaking projects that harness Generative AI to turn public policy into actionable code. Their initiatives, part of the Policy2Code Prototyping Challenge, focus on using GenAI to simplify and streamline the implementation of […]