Diving Deeper into Data

https://www.disruptionlab.org/meet-ups?mc_cid=cf975a531e&mc_eid=2d03ebba6a

Diving Deeper into Data
Wed April 17 2019 · 19:00 · State Studio · Haupstr 3, 10827 Berlin (U7 Kleistpark)
Following up #DNL15 DARK HAVENS
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At our second meetup, which follows after the Disruption Network Lab’s conference DARK HAVENS: Confronting Hidden Money and Power (5-6 April 2019, Studio 1, Kunstquartier Bethanien), we will dive deeper into some of the tools that were discussed for handling the large amounts of data of leaks such as the Panama Papers. We also take a look back at the workshop of RYBN.org of 7 April and hear from participants what they discovered on their psycho-geographic tour of Berlin shell companies & shadow finance offices.

Program:

Looking back at the DARK HAVENS conference: sharing our thoughts. We’ll start with a round of feedback on the recent DARK HAVENS conference, to see which issues came up that we want to explore further, or which questions are still unanswered.

Diving deeper into OCCRP Data with Friedrich Lindenberg (Data Team Lead, OCCRP, Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project). OCCRP Data is a platform for investigative reporters, or anyone looking into corruption, to find leads to investigate. It is powered by Aleph, an open source software tool that indexes large amounts of data for easy browsing and searching. After speaking at our DARK HAVENS panel, Friedrich will share more with us on how to handle massive amounts of data, ways that the Aleph tool could be used in other contexts, and possible future improvements of the database.

Reflection on the RYBN.org workshop ‘Offshore Tour Operator Berlin’: we will hear from workshop participants what they discovered on their psycho-geographic tour of Berlin shell companies & shadow finance offices. In the workshop, participants used the „Offshore Tour Operator“, a psycho-geographic GPS prototype, to hunt the streets of Berlin for shell companies, trust firms, domiciliation agencies and shadow finance offices and agents that are referenced in the Offshore Leaks, Panama Papers and Bahamas Leaks data-bases. Participants were invited to photograph the entrance, describe the area, observe the letterboxes and intercom systems to check if the name of the offshore entity, revealed by the leaks, is still there, and take notes on the path taken to it, to later discuss the experiences and share collected images.

Drinks and networking

You are warmly invited to join us, share your thoughts and find out more about how to get involved.

Our meetups take place at STATE Studio, a public gallery, showroom and event space in Berlin-Schöneberg. It’s a place for creative synergies between science, art, and innovation to discover and explore the breakthrough developments that shape our future.

Further reading:

How to handle massive datasets – and other lessons from OCCRP Data and Aleph. Interview with Friedrich Lindenberg by Teemu Henriksson on occasion of the Data Journalism Awards, 9 May 2018.

Psychogeographies of the Financial Imaginary – Uncovering the tax havens hidden in plain sight through counter-financial dérive. An interview by Max Haiven with RYBN.ORG, 13 July 2018.