The Data Harvest conference gathered journalists in Brussels from 6 to 8 May 2012 for freshly harvested Farmsubsidy.org data and for training in data journalism, data visualisation, freedom of information and cross-border reporting.
A meeting point for data journalists
The conference brought together reporters working across data journalism, visualisation, freedom of information and cross-border reporting. It was organised jointly by European transparency initiatives including Journalismfund.eu and Farmsubsidy.org as a place for journalists to learn from one another, share and develop methods, make contacts and build stories together. The programme was split into several tracks, each aimed at a different way of turning European data and documents into reporting.
The conference tracks
The Farmsubsidy track
This track focused on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Members of the Farmsubsidy team helped participants navigate the freshly published figures on who receives the roughly €60 billion paid out each year, and shape a story for their own audience.
The journalism lab
The lab was aimed at reporters who had an idea or a dataset but found it hard to get a European story moving. It paired them with experienced cross-border reporters and programmers who could help scrape data or crack the code, and with colleagues who had faced the practical challenges of cross-border work, from building a team to communication and funding.
The wobbing track
Freedom-of-information legislation is a powerful tool for obtaining credible information, including data — a technique known among its practitioners as "wobbing". This track brought together some of Europe's most experienced Wob-journalists to share their best methods and to start new collaborations. The approach is set out in more detail in the guide on how to use European freedom of information, and in the overview of public request platforms such as WhatDoTheyKnow.
Getting the tools
Across the tracks, journalists and programmers specialising in data journalism, freedom of information and visualisation ran training sessions and networked. The shared aim was to follow European money, analyse European data and get cross-border stories going.
Practical details
The conference ran from Sunday 6 May 2012 at 2pm to Tuesday 8 May 2012 at 5pm, and was held at the Erasmushogeschool at 70 Zespenningenstraat in Brussels, Belgium. The participation fee was €70, which covered the conference itself, lunches on the Monday and Tuesday, and coffee and tea. Accommodation was not included in the price; several speakers stayed at the Ibis Hotel St Catherine.
Frequently asked questions
When and where was the Data Harvest 2012 conference held?
It ran from 6 to 8 May 2012 at the Erasmushogeschool, 70 Zespenningenstraat, in Brussels, Belgium.
What is "wobbing"?
It is the practice of using freedom-of-information laws to obtain credible information and data from public authorities, a method featured in the conference's dedicated track.
What was the Farmsubsidy track about?
It helped journalists work with published Common Agricultural Policy data to identify who benefits from the EU's annual farm subsidies and build stories around it.