Would you like to write for “Abierto al Público”?
We invite you to share your knowledge with our community. If you are interested in writing for “Abierto al Público”, please propose an article to us keeping the following guidelines in mind:
1. Get to know our audience and their context
Our public has professionals, mostly from the public sector in Latin America and the Caribbean, who seek practical advice on how to apply open knowledge to their work to generate social impact. 51% are women and 75% are under 45 years old.
2. Propose a relevant and constructive topic to one of the categories
Become familiar with our thematic categories, including Open Data, Open Source, Knowledge Management, Open Learning, and Open Systems to formulate an idea that enriches the conversation and builds on the previous content.
3. Consider the style of article you want to develop
- Informative: we delve deeper into a topic by thoroughly explaining its fundamental principles and clarifying its basic elements.
- Tutorial: we explain the step by step of how to do something, to facilitate the transfer of knowledge.
- Opinion: we comment on the future of the topics we are discussing; where are we going, and how to adjust the standards to continue promoting impact through open knowledge.
- Knowledge menu: we compile didactic information on our topics, providing sources (external or internal) so that our audience expands their understanding and knowledge on these topics.
- Case study: we highlight research that deepens our themes, explains methodologies, or demonstrates the impact of open knowledge.
- Community: we disseminate information about the most emblematic and influential events, leaders, and initiatives in the field of open knowledge.
- Interview: we connect directly with the leaders and influencers who tell us their perspective from experience and avant-garde.
4. Structure the content in a practical and didactic way
Ask yourself what concrete takeaways you’d like your readers to know by the end of reading the article. What question does the article clarify about how to do something? Consider examples such as, “How to analyze more than 1,000 development indicators from different sources with the same tool”; “Free software or open source? We answer your questions”; and “What was the digital strategy that led us to 10 million downloads?”
Our readers value practical articles to accompany and guide their learning processes. In addition, when we write thinking about how to do something, we share the initiatives and concepts in a way that can be reused and adapted to other realities.
5. Be clear and concise; divide the content into concrete steps.
The suggested length for articles is between 600-900 words. Use simple language to help make content which is understandable and useful for all audiences, regardless of experience level. Finally, to facilitate reading, separate the content into sections with titles. You can also include graphics, videos, or other elements to enrich the content and make it even more interesting and informative.
6. Optimize content for the web.
You can make your article easier to find by search engines by assigning a keyword. You can consult our SEO guide that will teach you how to make a keyword query and plan your blog post to succeed online.
What do we not publish?
1. Publicidad o promoción pagada
In “Abierto al Público” we do not include promotional material for commercial purposes of any organization. The content must provide added value; through shared learning or offering reflection.
For example, instead of a list of applications, we want to know more about how they were created, what was learned in the process, and some general techniques for others to test out your methodology. The skills are more important than the products.
2. Political support
“Abierto al Público” is not affiliated with any political party or ideology. The ideas and experiences that we exchange through this channel reflect different perspectives. Our goal is to generate dynamic and inclusive conversations.
3. “Closed” content
We do not promote products or content that are closed by nature. Keep in mind that our license supports the reuse of the knowledge shared via this blog.
Ready with your idea?
Share your proposal with us at openknowledge@iadb.org