Cluj IT Cluster urges the Romanian govt. to create an Open Data platform

The Cluj IT Cluster announced its intention to create an Open Data platform in Romania that should allow free access to the information posted by governmental agencies and make possible to have consultations with citizens and the business environment.

The members of the cluster have sent an open letter to prime-minister Victor Ponta to urge that the Romanian state speeds up the adoption of Open Data standards and the creation of this platform.

“At the moment, the EU is in the process of developing the European Open Data Portal, a single point of access to the information available from its institutions. It is vital that the Romanian government adopts the same position, and Open Data becomes a factor of economic and social growth for our country, even more since Romania is a member of the Open Government Partnership since 2011, and it is time that good intentions are followed by concrete steps for attaining the targets, said Andrei Kelemen (in picture), executive director of the Cluj IT Cluster.

The most important step in setting up this Open Data platform in Romania would be the fast adoption of the legal framework that should compel state institutions publish the information in open format, but also regulate what information is of public interest, since at this moment, this is left to the institutions, said the official.

“We wish to be a partner in implementing this, since companies that are members of the Cluj IT Cluster have the technical, IT and human resources necessary, and we want the initiative of the cluster to go beyond the declarative level. With this action, we wish to create a direct communication and collaboration channel with the government,” said Kelemen.

Cluj IT Cluster includes 27 IT companies and 2 universities- The Cluj Napoca Technical University and the Babes-Bolyai University, seven public institutions and organizations.

“Free access to information of public interest is one of the basic features of any functional democratic state. In spite of this, it is regrettable that currently both citizens and companies who need access to public information are confronted with the lack of a clear and integrated system for data distribution. This limits the implication of the civil society in the governing act and deprives many companies from the necessary tools for building new business concepts or to spot various opportunities on the market,” says Kelemen.