2023 - Al Kags — Strategist, Social Entrepreneur, Writer

November 6, 2023

Thoughts from the Data Festival (1): Power of Definitions in Data work

I travelled 40 hours from Nairobi to Uruguay to attend the first Data Festival after COVID-19. The event underscored how the world seems to have paused for those three years since 2020. On day zero, I attended a couple of exciting sessions. The first was co-organized ...

September 27, 2023

Part Three: Citizen-Generated Data must be kept true to its essence – the role of National Statistical Organisations

In response to my last two blog posts (this one and this one), I have been asked what role I think National Statistical Organisations play in citizen-generated data. Here goes. In the dynamic world of data, where each number and statistic carries a narrative, it is ...

September 25, 2023

Part Two: Citizen-Generated Data must be kept true to its essence – and be kept in its definition.

The Nuance of "Citizen-Generated Data": Why It's More Than Just "Citizen Contributions to Data" and "Citizen Data" In my last post, I argued that Citizen-Generated Data should be kept true to its essence that it is by Citizens and for Citizens. I have read some discussions ...

September 15, 2023

Citizen-Generated Data must be kept true to its essence: for citizens by citizens

In an ever-evolving world, the dynamic between citizens and governments is taking new forms. One such development is citizen-generated data, a concept becoming pivotal in the socio-political space. It's essential to think about its true essence. While it has gained traction with the established structures, ...

September 2, 2023

My 100-acre forest: progress report

A few months ago, I mentioned in this blogpost that I resolved to plant a 100-acre forest. The reasoning is that I heard that a 100-acre forest would contribute greatly to changing the climate of a place. The place where I have bought the land ...

August 17, 2023

Michael Joseph Leaves Safaricom after 23 years

Kenyans have much to thank him for Michael Joseph, the legendary corporate leader who led Safaricom to be the most successful company in East Africa, has left Safaricom's board. I first met Michael Joseph in 2010 when I was running the Elimisha US initiative, which was ...

August 15, 2023

The Worldcoin deception in Kenya

Crypto aside, this was extraction of Kenyans biometric data for profit Over the past few weeks, I have had a bee in the bonnet. As were many Kenyans, I was intrigued that there were queues of people in Nairobi who were having their irises scanned in ...

July 23, 2023

Like Babu Owino or not, we can’t have detention without trial in Kenya

I don't like Babu Owino, MP. I think that he is the manifest emblem of a sophisticated hooligan. Babu has gotten away with a lot of reckless speech throughout his tumultuous career. I find it supremely difficult to assign him the prefix "Honourable" that should ...

July 19, 2023

It’s hard to be a progressive (or optimistic) lately

This is likely to turn out to be one of the worse written blog posts. I am writing it while having experienced many highs and lows in the last couple of days, and I have yet to process them fully. Being progressive or optimistic today ...

July 13, 2023

Kenya: Wisdom needed

Yesterday, there were demonstrations across Kenya that left at least six people dead. We have had maandamano before in Kenya, led by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga. The previous ones were focused on Nairobi predominantly as Hon. Odinga and his followers attempted to walk to ...

Archive