TechCamp Santiago is taking place today in Chile, and Eric is attending to show some examples of the efficiency gains that can come from opening up data, as well as to talk about best practices in opening up data. The camp is a one day event meant to identify problems that NGOs in Latin America have that can be solved with technology and connect those NGOs with local technologists who can help build solutions.

This morning the Camp is focused on defining the current state of NGOs and civil society in the region, talking about what a “Civil Society 2.0” would mean, and showing effective examples of technology being used - one being our work around the Afghanistan elections with the National Democratic Institute. The afternoon will include breakout sessions on topics like democracy and transparency and promoting economic opportunities, and training sessions on visualizing data on maps, using technology for disaster response, and how to better use your data. A full schedule is posted on the TechCamp website.

The TechCamp comes after the two-day conference held by the Personal Democracy Forum in Santiago, and was organized by the U.S. Department of State and supported by the U.S. Embassy in Chile. In addition to identifying problems and connecting the NGO and technology communities, organizers are hoping to end the day with well defined problem sets that they can submit to Random Global Hacks of Kindness, a community of technology do-gooders, to build solutions in their upcoming hackathon event in December.

For updates from the event, follow Eric on Twitter.