Support our data team, Atlo, and receive beautiful dataviz gifts as a reward

In November 2018, Atlatszo launched its data visualization project, Atlo. Now ask for your support because we need more resources to be able to grow and to carry out all our plans. In this article, we recap our work so far and present the ways you can support our work!

Atlo is Hungary’s first journalism project that is specialized in data-based visual media content. Data journalism has always been important for Atlatszo, and we wanted to strengthen its visual content – strong visuals are essential in the current international data journalism trends.

Atlo had two purposes at its launch. The first one was supplementing and supporting Atlatszo’s traditional investigative activities with data, graphics, and coding. The second one, equally important to the first, was creating independent data visualizations that focus on scientific, historical, and cultural issues – far from Atlatszo’s usual topics.

Data visualization feature: the history of cemeteries in Budapest since the middle ages

There are 21 working cemeteries in Budapest right now and 13 that are already closed. However, research by archaeologists and historians proves the existence of more than a hundred cemeteries in the past. The latest project by Atlatszo’s data team, Atlo, explores the history of cemeteries in Hungary’s capital.

Our work

In the past six months, we created 20 independent features and two stand-alone sites. One of them is NERTravel, a map where you can track in real time the private jets and a luxury yacht used by the Hungarian political elite. The other is TAOkereső, a database for Hungarian corporate tax used for supporting sports clubs that are close to the government.

All in all, we created more than 60 data visualizations, 60 thematic maps, 30 illustrations, and 5 videos.

Our results

Our data visualizations were picked up and featured by mainstream independent Hungarian media including Index.hu, 24.hu, Hvg, 444.hu, Blikk, Eurosport and others. A number of specialized blogs and Facebook groups, including the Facebook group of the Roman-Catholic Archdiocese of Esztergom-Budapest and government spokesman Zoltán Kovács also shared some of our work.

Our work as also featured internationally: they were the subject of a special report by the Online Journalism Blog, the Global Investigative Journalism Network, Mapsmania Map Special Blog and Reddit.

The Tableau data visualization software (which we often use) chose our feature on Budapest’s street names as ‘data visualization of the day’ on April 8, 2019.

Data visualization: 89% of Budapest streets that are named after people commemorate men

There are more than two thousand public spaces named after historic or fictitious people in Budapest. The names that these places are given tell us a lot about who are the people that our society wants to remember. It also tells us a lot about which era of our history we consider the most important.

The Global Investigative Journalism Network has featured our works four times already in its ‘best data project of the week’ selection.

We exhibited our works at ‘Data Stories 2019’ organized by Central European University’s Center of Network Science. We also presented at the Databánya Meetup and attended the Dataharvest conference in Mechelen, Belgium. We also started working on several international assignments.

This means that Atlo and Atlatszo have managed to reach people and places that do not deal with politics, publicity or corruption, they just like interesting content.

Interactive map: see the movement of Hungarian migrants and refugees after the Treaty of Trianon

István Dékány has recently published the online database that accompanies his book titled Orphans of Trianon (Trianoni árvák). The database contains data about Hungarians who were either deported from their homeland or who fled their homes after the Treaty of Trianon was signed in 1920.

Our plans

The financial support from Atlatszo gives as an exceptional opportunity. However, the initial financing will be able to support us forever.

Our plan was to transform into a for-profit company, and we indeed started to work as a contractor for certain organizations.. We worked for the Small Arms Survey (Geneva, Switzerland), the Eurozine in Vienna, Austria, and we are now producing material for the European Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Completing these assignments will sustain us for a few months, but our goal is to work as an independent team that generates income. To achieve this goal, we need to grow. That will also enable us to complete more assignments.

We also need resources to pay for data. Until now, we produced data visualizations for which data was available for free. However, we have many exciting plans for which data needs to be purchased or prepared. These are very costly in many cases.

New technology is also costly. So far, we have used free software or trial versions of software in most cases, but in order to be able to produce content that is up to international standards, we need to use the technologies and software that our colleagues use abroad.

How to support us

If you liked our work so far, you can now support us through Atlatszo. We even have developed different packages, thus you will receive gifts in exchange for your support.

Atlatszo has several options on how to support the site, and you can use those options to support us. Just add ‘Atlo’ as a note to your transfer. After the wire transfer, send us an email at [email protected] and tell us which gift package you would like to receive in exchange for your support.

Here are the packages: 

• Package 1: 5000 HUF / 15 EUR – 1 large poster
• Package 2: 10000 HUF / 30 EUR – 1 large poster and a folder with 8 small posters
• Package 3: 15000 HUF / 45 EUR – 1 large poster, a folder with 8 small posters and a tote bag
• Package 4: 25000 HUF / 75 EUR – 3 large posters, a folder with 8 small posters and a tote bag

Please include the following information in the text: your name, the name of the package, which poster and / or which bag you choose within the package, as well as the address where we can mail the gift for you. In-person pick-up is also possible.

Support independent journalism in Hungary – Your donation helps us to expose wrongdoings

Atlatszo.hu, Hungary’s first investigative journalism non-profit is financed by nonpartisan and non-governmental sources; we do not accept money from state institutions, political parties and affiliates. Institutional donors cover less than 50% of our budget, the rest is crowdfunded.

You can also support Atlo if you commission us to do work for you. We can create data visualizations for your, conduct workshops or advise you on these topics.

Written by Attila Bátorfy

English version by Zsuzsanna Liptákné Horváth. You can read the original, Hungarian-language story here.