Transparency Camp is a two day event that looks at how to improve transparency in government through open data, better technology, and more access to information, put on by the Sunlight Foundation. We always enjoy attending to see the great examples of what people are doing in these areas and hear about the progress that has been made, while still focusing on what we need to do now.

The MapBox team will be there today to talk about how to take open data and visualize it on a map using open source technology. Mapping data can let you quickly and powerfully tell your story and give it more meaning, like we saw when the Department of Education mapped broadband internet speeds over school districts throughout the country. Today we’ll show how to make maps with open data using open source tools — the open source map design studio TileMill in particular — as well as some examples of gorgeous custom maps made with these tools, including the Chicago Tribune’s map of mayoral election results, a map of seismic activity after the Japan earthquake, and the ‘I Heart NPR’ Facebook app.

Here are slides we’ll show today, and if you want to talk more about this or get a live demo of TileMill, look for Eric, Will, and Sean. If you can’t attend, you can watch it live from the Transparency Camp website.