On June 11, 2021, the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI), in its capacity as the regional hub for the Global Data Barometer (GDB), held a training session for national researchers.

IDFI joined the Global Data Barometer project and its regional hubs in the fall of 2020. IDFI became the regional hub for Eastern Europe and Central Asia and is responsible for coordinating the assessments of 12 countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

The goal of the training was to introduce national researchers to the GDB methodology. In the coming months, they will assess the accessibility of open data in their respective countries based on this methodology. Specifically, the data collection stage will begin in mid-June and last until the end of August.

The training participants learned general information about the structure and goals of GDB. Namely, they were introduced to a detailed explanation of the Index methodology and discussed specific circumstances that may arise during the evaluation process. The participants were also introduced to the online mechanism of the research tool and the characteristics of the assessment indicators.

The training was conducted by Teona Turashvili and David Eristavi from IDFI and Veronica Cretu representing the Global Data Barometer team.

The involvement of IDFI and the researchers from Central Asian and Eastern European countries in the Global Data Barometer project is supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Eastern Europe and Central Asia Regional Office.

For additional information regarding the Global Data Barometer (GDB), visit the website: www.globaldatabarometer.org