Philosophy of Openness and Its Relevance in Moving Toward Sustainable Development

Abstract

There is a close match between the principles of the philosophy of Openness and the principles and practices necessary to move toward sustainable development (SD). On one hand, the achievement of SD requires development of local capacity, self-reliance, adaptability, reduction of risks and vulnerabilities, resilience, stability, democracy, transparency, equal access, strengthening of social networks, cooperation, increased learning capacity, and enablement of local capacity to fix and develop. On the other, the application of the principles of Openness (collaboration, inclusiveness, access, participatory development, and decision making) lead to science and technologies that are not exclusionary, have less barriers to be adapted to specific needs and contexts, encourage communication and cooperation strengthening social networks, foster learning and development of local capacities, and by being interoperable and reusable, reduce waste of time and efforts while increasing creativity and productivity. This paper defines what Openness and SD are and provides examples of the previously mentioned match and of the significant contributions of Openness to the achievement of SD. The examples provided are in the context of geospatial science and technology.