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Once again, the Junta de Castilla y León has launched its open data contest to reward the innovative use of public information.

In this post, we summarize the details to participate in the IX edition of this event, which is an opportunity for both professionals and students, creative people or multidisciplinary teams who wish to give visibility to their talent through the reuse of public data.

What does the competition consist of?

The aim of the competition is to recognize projects that use open datasets from the Junta de Castilla y León. These datasets can be combined, if the participants wish, with other public or private sources, at any level of administration.

Projects can be submitted in four categories:

• Ideas category: aimed at people or teams who want to submit a proposal to create a service, studio, application, website or any other type of development. The project does not need to be completed; the important thing is that the idea is original, viable and has a potential positive impact.
• Products and services category: designed for projects already developed and accessible to citizens, such as online services, mobile applications or websites. All developments must be available via a public URL. This category includes a specific award for students enrolled in official education during the 2024/2025 or 2025/2026 school years.
• Didactic resource category: aimed at educational projects that use open data as a support tool in the classroom. The aim is to promote innovative teaching through Creative Commons licensed resources, which can be shared and reused by teachers and students.
• Data journalism category: it will reward journalistic works published or updated in a relevant way, in written or audiovisual format, that make use of open data to inform, contextualize or analyze topics of interest to citizens. The journalistic pieces must have been published in a printed or digital media since September 24, 2024, the day following the end date of the deadline for submission of candidacies of the immediately preceding call for awards.

In all categories, it is essential that at least one dataset from the open data portal of the Junta de Castilla y León is used. This platform has hundreds of datasets on different sectors such as the environment, economy, society, public administration, culture, education, etc. that can be used as a basis to develop useful, informative and transformative ideas.

Who can participate?

The competition is open to any natural or legal person, who can be presented individually or in a group. In addition, you can submit more than one application even for different categories. Although the same project may not receive more than one award, this flexibility allows the same idea to be explored from different approaches: educational, journalistic, technical or conceptual.

What prizes are awarded?

The 2025 edition of the contest includes prizes with a financial endowment, accrediting diploma and institutional dissemination through the open data portal and other communication channels of the Board.

The distribution and amount of the prizes by category is:

• Ideas category
  
  • First prize: €1,500
  • Second prize: €500
• Category products & services
  
  • First prize: €2,500
  • Second prize: €1,500
  • Third prize: €500
  • Special Student Prize: €1,500
• Category teaching resource
  
  • First prize: €1,500
• Data journalism category
  
  • First prize: €1,500
  • Second prize: €1,000

Under what criteria are the prizes awarded? The jury will assess the candidatures considering different evaluation criteria, as set out in the rules and the order of call, including their originality, social utility, technical quality, feasibility, impact, economic value and degree of innovation.

How to participate?

As in other editions, candidacies can be submitted in two ways:

• In person, at the General Registry of the Ministry of the Presidency, at the registry assistance offices of the Junta de Castilla y León or at the places established in article 16.4 of Law 39/2015.
• Electronics, through the electronic headquarters of the Junta de Castilla y León

Each application must include:

• Identification data of the author(s).
• Title of the project.
• Category or categories to which it is submitted.
• An explanatory report of the project, with a maximum length of 1,000 words, providing all the information that can be assessed by the jury according to the established scale.
• In the case of submitting an application to the Products and Services category, the URL to access the project will be specified

The deadline to submit proposals is September 22, 2025

With this contest, the Junta de Castilla y León reaffirms its commitment to the open data policy and the culture of reuse. The competition not only recognizes the creativity, innovation and usefulness of the projects presented, but also contributes to disseminating the transformative potential of open data in areas such as education, journalism, technology or social entrepreneurship.

In previous editions, solutions to improve mobility, interactive maps on forest fires, tools for the analysis of public expenditure or educational resources on the rural environment, among many other examples, have been awarded. You can read more about last year's winning proposals and others on our website. In addition, all these projects can be consulted in the history of winners available on the community's open data portal.

We encourage you to participate in the contest and get the most out of open data in Castilla y León!

Madrid City Council has launched an initiative to demonstrate the potential of open data: the first edition of the Open Data Reuse Awards 2025. With a total budget of 15,000 euros, this competition seeks to promote the reuse of the data shared by the council on its open data portal, demonstrating that they can be a driver of social innovation and citizen participation.

The challenge is clear: to turn data into useful, original and impactful ideas. If you think you can do it, below, we summarize the information you must consider to compete.

Who can participate?

The competition is open to practically everyone: from individuals to companies or groups of any kind. The only condition is to submit a project carried out between September 10, 2022 and September 9, 2025 and that uses at least one dataset  from the Madrid City Council's open data portal as a base. Data from other public and private sources can also be used, as long as the  Madrid City Council datasets are a key part of the project.

Of course, projects that have already been awarded, contracted or financed by the City Council itself are not accepted, nor are works submitted after the deadline or without the required documentation.

What projects can be submitted?

There are four main areas in which you can participate:

• Web services and applications: refers to projects that provide services, studios, web applications, or mobile apps.
• Studies, research and ideas: refers to projects of exploration, analysis or description of ideas aimed at the creation of services, studies, visualizations, web applications or mobile apps. Bachelor's and master's degree final university projects can also participate in this category.
• Proposals to improve the quality of the open data portal: includes projects, services, applications or initiatives that contribute to boosting the quality of the datasets published on the Madrid City Council's open data portal.
• Data visualizations: you can participate in this category with various content, such as maps, graphs, tables, 3D models, digital art, web applications and animations. Representations can be static, such as infographics, posters, or figures in publications, or dynamic, including videos, interactive dashboards, and stories.

What are the prizes?

For each category, two prizes for different economic endowments are awarded:

Figure 1. Prize money for the first edition of the 2025 Open Data Reuse Awards. Source: Madrid City Council.

Beyond the economic prize, this call is a great opportunity to give visibility to ideas that take advantage of the transparency and potential of open data. In addition, if the proposal improves public services, solves a real problem or helps to better understand the city, it will have great value that goes far beyond recognition.

How are projects valued?

A jury will evaluate each project by assigning a maximum score of 50 points, which will take into account aspects such as originality, social benefit, technical quality, accessibility, ease of use, or even design, in the case of visualizations. If deemed necessary, the jury may request further information submitted to the participants.

The two projects with the highest score will win, although to be considered, the proposals must reach at least 25 points out of a possible 50. If none of them meets this requirement, the category will be declared void.

The jury will be made up of representatives from different areas of the City Council, with experience in innovation, transparency, technology and data. A representative of ASEDIE (Multisectoral Association of Information), the association that promotes the reuse and distribution of information in Spain, will also participate.

How do I participate?

The deadline to register is September 9, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. In the case of natural people, the application can be submitted:

• Online through the City Council's Electronic Office. This procedure requires identification and electronic signature.
• In person at municipal service offices.

In the case of legal people, they may only submit their candidacy electronically.

In any case, the official form must be completed and accompanied by a report explaining the project, its operation, its benefits, the use of the data, and if possible, including screenshots, links or prototypes.

You can see the complete rules here.

More than 90,000 people from all over the world participated in the latest edition of the Space App Challenge. This annual two-day event, organized by the US space agency, NASA, is an opportunity to innovate and learn about the advantages that open space data can offer.

This year the competition will be held on October 4 and 5. Through a hackathon, participants will engage first-hand with NASA's most relevant missions and research. It's an opportunity to learn how to launch and lead projects through hands-on use of NASA data in the real world. In addition, it is a free activity open to anyone (those under 18 years of age must be accompanied by a legal guardian).

In this post, we tell you some of the keys you need to know about this global benchmark event.

Where is it held?

Under the banner of the Space Apps Challenge, virtual and face-to-face events take place all over the world. Specifically, in Spain, meetings are held in several cities:

• Barcelona
  
  • Where: in person, at 42 Barcelona (Carrer D'Albert Einstein 11).
• Madrid
  
  • Where: face-to-face, at the School of Digital Competences – San Blas Digital (Calle Amposta, 34).
• Murcia
  
  • Where: in person at UCAM HITECH (Av. Andrés Hernandez Ros, 1, Guadalupe).
• Malaga
  
  • Where: Face-to-face, at a location to be determined (you can contact the event organizer through the link).
• Pamplona
  
  • Where: face-to-face and virtual, in a location to be determined (you can contact the event organization through the link)
• San Vicente del Raspeig (Alicante)
  
  • Where: in person, at the Alicante Science Park (University of Alicante, San Vicente del Raspeig).
• Seville
  
  • Where: Face-to-face, at a location yet to be determined (you can contact the event organizer via the link).
• Valencia
  
  • Where: in person, at the UPV Student House, Polytechnic University of Valencia (Camino de Vera, s/n Building 4K).
• Zaragoza
  
  • Where: in person, at the Betancourt Building, Río Ebro Campus (EINA) Calle María de Luna, 1.

All of them will have a welcome ceremony on Friday, October 3 at 5:30 p.m . in which the details of the competition will be presented, the teams and the themes of each challenge will be organized.

To participate in any of the events, you can register individually and the organization will help you find a team. You can also register your team directly (of a maximum of 6 people).

If you can't find any in-person events near you, you can sign up for the universal event that will be online.

Are there any prizes?

Yes! Each event will award its own prizes. In addition, NASA recognizes, each year, ten global awards divided into different categories:

• Best Use of Science Award: recognizes the project that makes the most valid and outstanding use of science and/or the scientific method.

• Best Data Use Award: awarded to the project that makes spatial data more accessible or uses it in a unique way.

• Best Use of Technology Award: distinguishes the project that represents the most innovative use of technology.

• Galactic Impact Award: awarded to the project with the greatest potential to improve life on Earth or in the universe.

• Best Mission Concept Award: recognizes the project with the most plausible concept and design.

• Most Inspiring Award: It is awarded to the project that manages to move and inspire the public.

• Best Narrative Award: Highlights the project that most creatively communicates the potential of open data through the art of storytelling.

• Global Connection Award: awarded to the project that best connects people around the world through technology.

• Art and Technology Award: recognizes the project that most effectively combines technical and creative skills.

• Local Impact Award: awarded to the project that demonstrates the greatest potential to generate impact at the local level.

Figure 1. Space App Challenge Awards. Source: https://www.spaceappschallenge.org/brand/

From Gijón to the world: the Spanish project awarded in 2024

In last year's edition, a Spanish project, specifically from Gijón, won the global award for best mission concept with its Landsat Connect application proposal. The AsturExplorer team developed a web application designed to provide a fast, simple and intuitive way to track the path of Landsat satellites and access surface reflectance data. Their project fostered interdisciplinary and scientific learning capacities, and empowered citizens.

The Landsat program consists of a series of Earth observation satellite missions, jointly managed by NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), providing images and data about our planet since 1972.

End users of the app developed by AsturExplorer can set a destination location and receive notifications in advance to know when the Landsat satellite will pass over each area. This allows users to prepare and take their own measurements on the ground and obtain pixel data without the need to constantly monitor satellite schedules.

The AsturExplorer team used open Landsat data from NASA and Earth Explorer. They also made use of artificial intelligence to understand the technical problem and compare multiple alternatives. You can read more about this use case here.

How do I register?

The Space App Challenge website offers a section of frequently asked questions and a video tutorial to facilitate registration. The process is simple:

1. Create an account
2. Register for the Hackathon
3. Choose a local event
4. Join a team and form your own
5. Submit a project (before 11.59am on 5 October)
6. Complete the Engagement Survey

We encourage you to be part of this global benchmark event where you will reuse open datasets. A great opportunity!

On 16 May, Lanzarote became the epicentre of open culture and open data in Spain with the celebration of the IV Encuentro Nacional de Datos Abiertos (ENDA). Under the slogan "Data in the culture of open knowledge", this edition brought together more than a hundred experts, professionals and open data enthusiasts to reflect on how to boost the development and progress of our society through free access to information.

The event, held in the emblematic Jameos del Agua Auditorium, was organised by the Government of the Canary Islands, through the Directorate General for the Digital Transformation of Public Services, the Directorate General for Transparency and Citizen Participation, the Canary Islands Institute of Statistics and the Island Council of Lanzarote under the brand "Canarias Datos Abiertos".

The transformation to data-driven organisations

The day began with the inauguration by Antonio Llorens de la Cruz, Vice Councillor for Administrations and Transparency of the Government of the Canary Islands, and Miguel Ángel Jiménez Cabrera, Councillor of the Area of Presidency, Human Resources, New Technologies, Energy, Housing, Transport, Mobility and Accessibility of the Island Council of Lanzarote.

This was followed by a talk by Óscar Corcho García, Professor at the Polytechnic University of Madrid, who addressed the " Challenges in the transformation of an organisation to be data-centric, using knowledge graphs. The case of the European Railway Agency ". Corcho presented the case study of the European Railway Agency (ERA).

In his presentation, Corcho insisted that the transformation from a traditional to a data-driven organisation goes far beyond technology implementation. This transformation process requires strengthening the legal framework, harmonising processes, vocabularies and master data, establishing governance of the ontology model and creating a community of users to further enrich the model.

In this process, metadata, data catalogues and reference data are key elements. In addition, knowledge graphs are essential tools for connecting and integrating data from proprietary systems.

Open data for science in the service of public decisions

The first of the roundtables addressed how open data can serve science to improve public decisions. Participants highlighted the need to strengthen the data economy, move towards technological sovereignty and promote effective citizen participation.

Diego Ramiro Fariñas, Director of the Institute of Economics, Geography and Demography of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), highlighted:

• The importance of longitudinal data infrastructures, i.e. data that are collected over time for the same units.
• The value of linked data in breaking down information silos.
• The need to preserve statistical heritage.
•  The project Es_Datalab, which allows cross-referencing data such as those of the Tax Agency with those of Health.
•  The potential of synthetic data to reduce bias in AI applications.

Ramiro Fariñas also emphasised that the National Statistics Institute has transformed its entire statistical production towards data mining, and that leading institutes such as the Canary Islands and Andalusia are improving the publication of data to improve public policies. He pointed out two fundamental aspects: the need for greater interlocution between data producers and the training of administration staff to overcome the main barriers to putting science at the service of public decisions.

Izaskun Lacunza Aguirrebengoa, Director of the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT), stressed the importance of transforming the model of science, making it easier for scientific institutions to protect and share research information. He explained the concept of open science in contrast to some of the current practices, where knowledge generated with public funds ends up being controlled by private oligopolies that subsequently sell this processed information to the very institutions that generated it. Lacunza advocated public-public collaboration through initiatives such as the Office of Science and Technology in Congress.

Another participant in this round table was Tania Gullón Muñoz-Repiso, Coordinator of the Innovation and Geospatial Analysis Area of the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, who shared how data is crucial for the management of emergencies such as the DANA. The Ministry's mobility data has hundreds of reusers, drives new businesses and enables predictive modelling. Gullón insisted that it is key that the data provided by citizens include an explanation of how it has been used, considering this feedback fundamental to give value to open science.

Open culture: removing barriers to knowledge

The round table "Open culture: how data brings us closer to knowledge" discussed how to remove barriers to access, study and transformation of knowledge so that it can be returned to society and its potential can be harnessed.

In this thematic block, Florencia Claes, Academic Director of Free Culture at the Office of Free Knowledge and Culture (OfiLibre) of the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (URJC), defined open culture as the current that seeks access to knowledge without barriers and the possibility of being able to appropriate that knowledge, study it and share it again with society. He highlighted interesting ideas such as that publishing content on the internet does not automatically mean that it is open, as open content must meet certain standards and conditions that are not always met.

 Claes explained the value of Open Educational Resources (OER) and how the URJC has a specific office to disseminate open culture, open science and open data. He pointed out that there is a deficiency in the training of university teaching staff on licensing and OER, considering this training as a key element to advance in the culture of openness.

In addition, he stressed that mass access to data facilitates its control, error detection and improvement. For this, initiatives such as Wikimedia or OpenStreetMap are very interesting, both projects accept voluntary participation and your contribution is essential to building and maintaining online open environments.

At the same table, Julio Cordal Elviro, Head of the Area of Library Projects and responsible for relations with Europeana at the Ministry of Culture, explained the evolution of Europeana from simple harvester to digital library, with projects based on semantic metadata, highlighting the challenges of standardisation and digital preservation of more than 60 million cultural works. He explained that the emergence of Google Books acted as a catalyst to "get the ball rolling" in this area.

Cordal also presented the Hispanaproject, which compiles information on digitised collections throughout Spain and federates with Europeana, and mentioned that they have begun to generate OER. He underlined how the use of technologies such as OCR (rOptical Character Recognition) and the online availability of funds makes it easier for researchers to save infinite time in their work. "When you make data open and free, you are opening up new opportunities," he concluded.

On the other hand, José Luis Bueren Gómez-Acebo, Technical Directorof the National Library of Spain (BNE), shared the digital transformation process of the institution, its commitment to open licences and the importance of the emotional component that drives citizen participation in cultural projects.

Bueren explained how the BNE continues its work of compiling and digitising all the bibliographic works produced in Spain, keeping connected with Wikidata and other international libraries in a standardised way. Through initiatives such as BNE Data, they offer a more practical and didactic vision of the information they publish.

He stressed the importance of citizens re-appropriating the cultural content, feeling that it is theirs, recalling that the BNE is indebted to the scientific community and to all citizens. Among the innovative projects they are promoting, he mentioned the automatic transcription of manuscripts. As challenges for the future, he pointed to sustainability, the management of intellectual property and the need for cultural institutions to be able to adapt to new trends.

Prioritisation of public data openness

As in each edition, ENDA presented a specific challenge. This year, Casey Abernethy, Technical Manager of the Asociación Multisectorial de la Información (ASEDIE), and José de León Rojas, Head of the Negociado de Modernización del Cabildo Insular de Lanzarote, presented a methodology and tool to help public administrations decide what datasets they should publish and in what order of priority, based on:

• Data sets recommended by the FEMP.
• Priority sets defined in the UNE Standard on Smart Cities and Open Data.
• High-value assemblies according to European standards.
• Sets requested by ASEDIE (Top 10 ASEDIE).
• Sets derived from transparency indices or regulations.

The proposed methodology considers three fundamental indices: organisational maturity, technical difficulty and strategic relevance. The 4th challenge in the context of the Encuentro was specifically aimed at choosing the key datasets to be published in a public administration according to its open data maturity. This methodology has been implemented in an operational tool that can be found on the Meetings website.

The power of free software and open communities

During the afternoon, the panel "Unlocking the potential of open data" highlighted how free software and open communities drive the use and exploitation of open data:

• Emilio López Cano, Professor at the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos and president of the Hispanic R Community, showed how the R community facilitates the use of open data through specific packages.
• Miguel Sevilla Callejo, Research Assistant at the Pyrenean Institute of Ecology of the CSIC and vice-president of the OpenStreetMap Spain association, presented OpenStreetMap as an invaluable source of open spatial data and highlighted its importance in emergency situations.
• Patricio del Boca, Technical Lead and member of the Open Knowledge Foundation (OKFN) CKAN technical team, explained the advantages of CKAN as an open source platform for implementing open data portals and presented the new Open Data Editor tool.

Open administrations at the service of citizens

The last round table addressed how administrations can bring data and its value closer to citizens:

• Ascensión Hidalgo Bellota, Deputy Director General for Transparency of Madrid City Council, presented "View Madrid with Open Data". Hidalgo stressed that the project has significantly reduced the number of citizen consultations thanks to its clarifying nature, thus demonstrating a double benefit: bringing data closer to the population and optimising the administration's resources.
• Carlos Alonso Peña, Director of the Design, Innovation and Exploitation Division at the Directorate General for Data, highlighted the cultural change that the Administration is undergoing, moving from data protection to responsible openness. He presented the Data Directorate General's initiatives to move beyond open data towards a single data market: the data spaces, where concrete solutions are being developed to demonstrate the business potential in this area. He also pointed to the growing importance of private data in the wake of the General Data Regulation and the obligations it establishes.
• Joseba Asiain Albisu, Director General of the Directorate General of the Presidency, Open Government and Relations with the Parliament of Navarre of the Government of Navarre, explained Navarre's strategy to improve data quality, centralise information and promote continuous evaluation. He commented on how the Government of Navarra seeks to balance quantity and quality in the publication of data, centralising data from the entire region and submitting metadata to external evaluation, with the collaboration of, among others, datos.gob.es.

The value of open data meetings

The IV ENDA has demonstrated, once again, the importance of these spaces for reflection and debate for:

• Sharing good practices and experiences between public administrations.
• Encourage collaboration between institutions, academia and the private sector.
• Promote the culture of open data as a tool for social innovation.
• Promote the development of skills in public administration staff.
• Improving public policies through information sharing.

After four consecutive editions, the National Open Data Meeting has established itself as a must-attend event for all the people and entities involved in the open data ecosystem in Spain. This event contributes significantly to building a more informed, participatory and transparent society.

ENDA will continue in 2026 with its fifth edition, committed to continue promoting the culture of open data as a driver of economic and social development in our country.  The organisation has already announced that the next edition of the event will be held in Navarre in 2026.. Follow us on social media to keep up to date with events on open data and related technologies. You can read us on Twitter (X), LinkedIn and Instagram.

The international open government community is preparing for the 9th Global Summit of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), which will take place in Vitoria-Gasteiz next October.. For three days, government representatives, civil society leaders and policy makers from around the world will exchange experiences, best practices and progress on open government initiatives. The choice of Vitoria-Gasteiz as host city, a medium-sized city but a symbol of sustainability and good urban management, also reflects the commitment of the outgoing presidency of the Spanish Government in the OGP to the integration of open government at all levels of administration, from the municipal and regional to the state level.

A crucial meeting for the open government ecosystem

The OGP 2025 Global Summit comes at a time of a complex global context. Democracy today faces several relevant threats,from disinformation to increasing authoritarianism. This is why the Vitoria-Gasteiz Summit is emerging as a potential global catalyst to revitalise the momentum of open government as a response to these challenges. It is an opportunity to bring the international community together and demonstrate once again that transparency, participation and collaboration remain effective tools for strengthening democracies.

Since its founding in 2011, the OGP has grown rapidly and established itself as a wide-ranging international alliance. It currently brings together some 75 countries and 150 local jurisdictions (representing more than 2 billion people), along with hundreds of civil society organisations, and accumulated more than 4,500 reform commitments embodied in some 300 national action plans during its first decade.

A global summit bringing together so many actors offers an unparalleled forum for sharing learnings, assessing advances and announcing new commitments.

OGP in context: 14 years of open government

After nearly 15 years of existence, the OGP can boast some significant achievements. Since its creation, many countries have adopted access to information laws, open data portals and transparency policies that did not exist before. Innovative initiatives such as citizen participation platforms and collaborative accountability mechanisms have also been implemented. Moreover, the Alliance incorporates an additional accountability component through the independent review mechanism (IRM) that publicly assesses the implementation of these commitments.

However, it is not all victories, as several civil society actors have also been pointing out some limitations and inconsistencies in the current OGP. Thus, according to OGP's own data and its IRM, there is an implementation gap in the commitments made, with multiple projects never getting off the ground, either due to lack of resources or political will. Another important warning sign comes from the deterioration of the democratic environment in some countries, with some regression on critical issues such as the protection of civic space. This also highlights a broader problem: high-level political commitment to open government is not always sustained, and without active leadership, OGP loses relevance.

The balance of the Spanish Presidency of the OGP

Spain holds the OGP co-presidency from October 2024 until the end of September 2025, shared with civil society and academic representative Cielo Magno (from the Philippines). This leadership position is also a unique opportunity to influence the Alliance's priorities and messages at this key moment. From the outset, the Spanish government identified three strategic areas for its co-presidency:

• Putting the citizen at the centre of decision-making.
• Strengthen democracies to make them more resilient.
• Protecting citizens' rights in the digital transformation.

These axes align with some of the current global concerns cited above: the crisis of confidence in institutions, the threat of authoritarianism and the new risks to rights in the digital environment. Spain also declared its intention to promote innovative ideas, taking advantage of technologies such as open data and artificial intelligence as tools to successfully carry out the double transition, green and digital.

Internally, Spain has launched the process called "Consensus for an Open Administration", which brings together civil servants, experts and citizens in 18 working groups to rethink the functioning of government through innovative methodologies and citizen participation. This effort, which is being developed in the Laboratory for Public Innovation (LIP) of the National Institute of Public Administration (INAP), as well as in the HAZLAB laboratory for innovation in citizen participation, seeks to present concrete proposals to improve trust in institutions through openness and collaboration.

The government is also preparing its V Open Government Action Plan (2025-2029), whose public consultation phase received more than 400 proposals from citizens and organisations, multiplying participation by 2.5 times compared to the previous Plan.

The challenge of open government: reforms, scope and obstacles

In response to the above challenges, the OGP has recently launched the Open government challenge. It is an initiative that seeks to channel reforming energies into ten priority areas, seeking common and significant progress in the following areas over the next five years:

• Access to information (transparency and right to know).
• Anti-corruption (public integrity and anti-corruption).
• Civic space (protection of freedoms of association, expression, assembly).
• Climate and environment (transparent and participatory climate governance).
• Digital governance (ethical and open use of data and technologies).
• Fiscal openness (open budgets, transparent procurement and spending).
• Gender and inclusion (gender equality, inclusion of vulnerable groups).
• Justice (open justice, access to justice and transparent judicial systems).
• Freedom of media (protection of independent journalism and truthful reporting).
• Public participation (effective mechanisms for citizen participation in decisions).

Each thematic area is accompanied by a guide with examples of reforms, inspiring use cases and ideas for specific commitments that countries can adopt. The ambition is for these ten areas to concentrate global efforts, encouraging collaboration and avoiding dispersion. The OGP will regularly highlight the most ambitious reforms in each field in order to serve as an example and inspiration for others. In fact, it will also be in Vitoria-Gasteiz where the most promising and impactful reforms submitted by countries to the challenge will be initially recognised through the Open Gov Challenge Awards, which will reward environment, innovation, sustainability and participation in each of the above-mentioned areas.

Digital rights, open data and ethics

One of the most innovative strategic dimensions of the OGP agenda, and one on which the Spanish presidency has also placed special emphasis, is the intersection between open government and digital transformation. In the midst of 2025, it is clear that government openness is no longer limited to transparency portals, but encompasses issues such as ethics in the use of algorithms, protection of Internet rights, responsible data management and citizen participation supported by new technologies. Digital ethics thus ceases to be a niche issue and becomes part of the mainstream open government agenda.

On the one hand, the expansion of artificial intelligence and automated decision-making in the public sector generates both promise and concern. Promises, because used well these tools can improve the efficiency and personalisation of public services. Concern, because they introduce risks of opacity, discriminatory risks and threats to privacy. This is where open government can add value through proactive measures to ensure digital inclusion and prevent algorithmic discrimination. Some of the suggested model reforms in this area include:

• Registers of algorithms so that citizens know what automated systems their government is using and with what data).
• Human rights impact assessments before deploying AI in the administration.
• Creation of specific complaints mechanisms when an automated decision causes harm.
• Establishment of independent AI oversight bodies.

On the other hand, digital citizens' rights have become increasingly important. Spain, for example, enacted a Charter of Digital Rights that recognises principles such as digital identity, personal data protection, net neutrality and online safety for vulnerable groups. This charter shows the way in which governments can commit to extending classic human rights to the digital realm, and it is to be hoped that other countries will also make commitments along the same lines.

Other critical issues with the increasing digitisation of governments are privacy and data protection. This is where the notion of data governance comes in, which implies clear rules on what data a government opens up, how it anonymises it, how it allows its re-use and how it protects individuals. The opening of data also remains a core component of the agenda, but is now viewed through a more mature lens. After years of open data portals, it is recognised that it is not enough to publish new datasets, but also to ensure their quality, relevance and effective use.

In short, digital rights, data and AI governance, digital ethics and open data constitute a new transversal axis that is gaining increasing prominence in the OGP, partly also thanks to the impulse given by the Spanish presidency. They represent the adaptation of open government to the challenges of the 21st century. Without addressing this digital dimension, the open government ecosystem would risk falling behind technological developments and the other pillars of open government could be undermined by algorithmic "black boxes".

Conclusions: a look towards Vitoria-Gasteiz 2025

The upcoming OGP Global Summit in Vitoria-Gasteiz is therefore seen as a new turning point for the open government movement. Its global relevance lies in the need to reaffirm values and concrete actions of open government in a context where democracy faces serious challenges. We have seen that the OGP comes to this new milestone with several strengths, but also with unfinished business and some uncomfortable questions:

Should tenure criteria be tightened for governments that fail to meet their commitments? How to finance the implementation of commitments in low-capacity countries? Is the real impact on people's daily lives being adequately measured?

The Spanish presidency, for its part, has brought enthusiasm and fresh ideas, with a particular emphasis on citizenship and digitalisation, but also with the ultimate challenge of ensuring that these new principles are translated into concrete actions and results at the global level. The presence of 2,000 international delegates will provide an opportunity to build new coalitions to enable such change. If governments and civil society can agree on ambitious new goals in the digital sphere, OGP will once again have proven its worth as a democratic innovation driver.

The best governments are those that open their doors, their data and their processes to citizens. If this meeting serves to strengthen this conviction and translate it into concrete reforms, it will undoubtedly be the best possible outcome.

Content prepared by Carlos Iglesias, Open data Researcher and consultant, World Wide Web Foundation. The contents and views reflected in this publication are the sole responsibility of the author.

Once again, Spain joins the celebration of Open Government Week (Open Gov Week), an international initiative promoted by the Open Government Partnership (OGP) that promotes the fundamental principles of amodern, citizen-friendlyadministration.

This edition, which will take place from 19 to 25 May 2025, brings together public administrations from around the world with the aim of promoting the values of open government: transparency, accountability, citizen participation and institutional integrity.  To achieve these objectives, open data is a key element, as access to and re-use of public information is the foundation of open government..

Since Spain joined this alliance in 2011, it has demonstrated a firm commitment to the principles of open governance: it has been recognised on multiple occasions for its active role in the organisation of activities, being one of the States that promotes the most events during this week at an international level.  In addition, this year our country holds the co-presidency of the Steering Committee and on 7, 8 and 9 October the IX Open Government Partnership Global Summitwill be held in Vitoria-Gasteiz.

In this post, we look at the agenda of events organised in Spain as part of Open Government Week. Among the hundreds of activities that will be held, we have focused on those related to access to information, open data and technological innovation.

What is Open Government Week?

Through workshops, information days, guided tours, talks and presentations, this action seeks to bring the workings of the institutions closer to society as a whole, foster understanding of public services and promote direct citizen participation.

 The programming will include a diverse range of events, including:

• Institutional advertising campaign.
• Hackathon and innovation competitions.
• Debates and round tables.
• OPEN DAYS
• Launch of virtual content.
• Seminars and workshops.
• Participatory processes and citizen consultations.

Featured events in the 2025 edition

During this edition, numerous activities have been scheduled throughout the territory, focusing on the presentation of key projects and initiatives of the Administration. Below are some representative examples of the spirit of the Week, arranged by organising bodies:

• Ministry of Finance:
  
  • Online presentation of the Central Treasury Archive content search portal (Monday 19 at 12.00h): through an online conference, access to the portal, the search modalities and the open accessible content it offers will be explained.. Some of the most outstanding online documents from the archive's collection will also be presented. Finally, other actions of the Archive relating to the Ministry's Document Management Policy will be disseminated for your information.
• Ministry of Culture:
  
  • Spain is Culture (always available):  The Ministry of Culture provides the public with a large amount of useful information accessible from the Spain is Culture portal. On the occasion of Open Government Week, they wanted to highlight this.

• National Institute of Public Administration:
  
  • Stories of public innovation" conference (Tuesday 20 May): a day to discover how innovation is transforming the Administration. It will be possible to learn about the work of INAP's Public Innovation Laboratory (LIP) and HazLab, a citizen participation laboratory, together with other projects that promote change from different administrations to build a more open, collaborative and closer Administration. Sign up here.

• Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID):
  
  • Workshop "Cooperation: a team effort" (Tuesday 20, 11:30 a.m.):  through a cloud challenge, participants are invited to reflect on leadership, cooperation and teamwork, fundamental values in the development projects led by AECID. There are 20 places available, register here.

• Government of Navarre:

• Café with data (Monday 19):  Training session on data quality and the benefits of metadata for publication in portals.

• Diputació de Barcelona:
  
  • Workshop online "Where is the border between transparency and data protection?" (Monday 19 at 09.30h): the webinar will be given by Carles San José, consultant and trainer for the public sector in matters of transparency, data protection and administrative procedure in general. Entry:
    • Public employee.
    • General registration.
  • Webinar "I can't make a living! Be transparent or die trying" (Monday 19 at 11.30h): aimed at public staff, this is a virtual workshop on the importance of opening up data in administrations.
    • Public employee.
    • General registration.
  • Workshop on data spaces: what they are and how to make the most of them (Thursday 22nd at 10.00h):
    • Public employee.
    • General registration.
  • Webinar "Open data and mobility: take advantage of the use of Big data" (Thursday 22nd at 12.00h): how to take advantage of the mobility data that the Ministry of Transport makes available to the public for the analysis of road flows throughout the country.
    • Public employee.
    • General registration.

• Online workshop "Master AI: become a prompts specialist" (Friday 23rd at 09.30h): this webinar is aimed at discovering how to communicate with generative AI tools to obtain more accurate results.
  • Public employee.
  • General registration.
• Webinar "Public open source models of AI" (Friday 23 at 11.30h): this online seminar will present ALIA and its precedent AINA, as well as their uses.. Sign up!
  • Public employee.
  • General registration.

• Madrid City Council: It organises a series of activities that highlight the use of open data in different sectors such as mobility or urban safety.
  • Madrid Calle 30 (Tuesday 20, 09:30h): visit to the M-30 tunnels and its control centre. Attendees will learn about the datasets published on the M-30, how the information is managed and updated, and how citizens and the private sector can access, reuse and add value to this data.
  • Air quality and meteorological data (Tuesday 20, 13:00h): visit to an air measurement station and explanation of how environmental data are collected to help make urban policy decisions.
  • Municipal Police (Thursday 22nd, 09:30h): visit to the control centre, where incidents, operational coordination and public safety actions are managed.
  • Urban installations: lighting, tunnels and ornamental fountains (Friday 23rd): a sample of how the operation of essential urban services is managed in real time through the municipal control centre.
  • Game with data on social networks: Madrid City Council will share games and challenges on social networks related to the open data on its portal throughout Open Government Week.

An agenda with more than 400 events all over the country

These are just some of the events planned, but there are many more.  We encourage you to consult the full calendar of activities available during the Week on the Open Government portal and to share your experiences and proposals.

Open Government Week is not just an institutional showcase, but a meeting place where the Administration listens, explains and learns from citizens. The diversity of scheduled events - ranging from education to security, social inclusion to victim care - reflects the public sector's commitment to getting closer to the day-to-day realities of society.

Thanks to these initiatives, the bond of trust between public authorities and citizens is strengthened, favouring a more collaborative, fair and efficient public administration

Once again this year, the IV National Open Data Meeting (ENDA) is presented as an essential event for professionals, public administrations and citizens interested in the transformative potential of open data in our society. Under the slogan "Data in the culture of open knowledge", this event will focus on the fundamental role of open culture in the digital society of the 21st century.

Open culture promotes the creation and exchange of content without licence restrictions, allowing its free accessibility and reuse. Open, publicly available data is a fundamental pillar of this concept, as it can be used by any person or entity to develop new applications, analyses and services, thus fostering innovation and collaborative work.

The event will take place on 16 May 2025 at the Auditorio Jameos del Agua, Lanzarote, from 9:30 to 17:00. It is important to note that this is an exclusively face-to-face event, without live broadcasting, with a capacity limited to 100 people.

ENDA's trajectory: a journey through open data

Today, the National Open Data Meeting has established itself as a space of reference for reflection and debate on the use of open data as an engine for development and social progress. Since its first edition in 2022, each meeting has addressed specific themes of great relevance:

• 2022: use of open data to promote territorial cohesion and combat depopulation.
• 2023: Dissemination and re-use of data to address the environmental challenge.
• 2024: boosting the tourism sector through open data.
• 2025: the culture of open knowledge in the digital society of the 21st century.

Objectives and key data of the IV ENDA

This year's event is organised under the brand Canarias Datos Abiertos by the following institutions: Cabildo Insular de Lanzarote, and these three institutions of the Canary Islands Government: Directorate General for the Digital Transformation of Public Services, Directorate General for Transparency and Citizen Participation and the Canary Islands Statistics Institute.

This year, the main purpose of this meeting is to generate a space for reflection and debate on how open data can contribute to the development and progress of our society, especially in the context of public administrations. In addition, two complementary objectives are pursued:

1. Competence development: promoting skills and knowledge among public administration staff to maximise the use of open data.
2. Improving public policies: enriching decision-making thanks to the information generated and shared through these meetings.

Programme: a journey through open knowledge

The Meeting, presented by Marc Garriga Portolà (CEO of DesideDatum Data Company), is structured to offer a complete vision of open culture and data as a catalyst for knowledge:.

Morning

• 10:00 - Official opening by representatives of the Cabildo de Lanzarote and the Canary Islands Government.
• 10:20 - Presentation on transforming data-centric organisations using knowledge networks, with the case of the European Railway Agency as a practical example.
• 11:00 - Round table "Open data for a science at the service of public decisions", with representatives from CSIC, FECYT and the Ministry of Transport.
• 11:45 - Round table: "Open culture: how data brings us closer to knowledge", with experts from the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, the Ministry of Culture and the National Library.

Afternoon

• 14:00 - Presentation of the IV ENDA challenge.
•  14:30 - Roundtable: "Unlocking the potential of open data", with specialists from the R Hispano community, OpenStreetMap Spain and the Open Knowledge Foundation..
• 15:15 - Round table: "Open administrations at the service of citizens", with representatives from different levels of public administration.
• 16:00 - Conclusions.
• 16:30 - Official closing.

Who is it aimed at?

The IV ENDA is specially designed for:

• Data governance managers and managers of open data portals in public administrations.
• Technical staff and professionals involved in open data management, both in the public sector and in other organisations.
• Administration staff at state, territorial and local level.
• Journalists and communication professionals interested in the potential of open data.
• General public with an interest in transparency and open knowledge.

This meeting offers a unique opportunity to:

1. Connect with experts in open data and open knowledge culture.
2. To learn about case studies of data-driven organisational transformation.
3. Discover tools and methodologies for the efficient management of open data.
4. Participate in discussions on the application of open data in different areas.
5. To contribute to the reflection on the future of administrations open to citizen service.

How to participate: registration

Registration will be open from today, 7 April, until 30 April (provisional date). To secure your place in this limited capacity event, you must access the registration form that will be available from today.

The culture of open knowledge is an approach full of opportunities, discover them at the 4th National Open Data Meeting. This meeting aims to be a space for the exchange of ideas, experiences and best practices. Stay tuned to our social networks so you don't miss anything. You can also follow the networks of the Canary Islands Statistics Institute (ISTAC) which will be disseminating all the information related to the event both on Twitter and LinkedIn.

 More information about the event: https://encuentrosdatosabiertos.es/

Once again this year, the European Commission organised the EU Open Data Day, one of the world's leading open data and innovation events. On 19-20 March, the European Convention Centre in Luxembourg brings together experts, government officials and academics to share knowledge, experience and progress on open data in Europe.

 During these two intense days, which also could be followed online explored crucial topics such as governance, quality, interoperability and the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on open data. This event has become an essential forum for fostering the development of policies and practices that promote transparency and data-driven innovation across the European Union. In this post, we review each of the presentations at the event.

Openness and data history

To begin with, the Director General of the European Union Publications Office, Hilde Hardeman, opened the event by welcoming the attendees and setting the tone for the discussions to follow. Helena Korjonen and Emma Schymanski, two experts from the University of Luxembourg, then presented a retrospective entitled "A data journey: from darkness to enlightenment", exploring the evolution of data storage and sharing over 18,000 years. From cave paintings to modern servers, this historical journey highlighted how many of today's open data challenges, such as ownership, preservation and accessibility, have deep roots in human history.

This was followed by a presentation by Slava Jankin, Professor at the Centre for AI in Government at the University of Birmingham, on AI-driven digital twins and open data to create dynamic simulations of governance systems, which allow policymakers to test reforms and predict outcomes before implementing them.

Use cases between open data and AI

On the other hand, several use cases were also presented, such as Lithuania's practical experience in the comprehensive cataloguing of public data. Milda Aksamitauskas of the University of Wisconsin, addressed the governance challenges and communication strategies employed in the project and presented lessons on how other countries could adapt similar methods to improve transparency and data-driven decision-making.

In relation, scientific coordinator Bastiaan van Loenen presented the findings of the project he is working on, ODECO of Horizon 2020, focusing on the creation of sustainable open data ecosystems. As van Loenen explained, the research, which has been conducted over four years by 15 researchers, has explored user needs and governance structures for seven different groups, highlighting how circular, inclusive and skills-based approaches can provide economic and social value to open data ecosystems.

In addition, artificial intelligence was at the forefront throughout the event. Assistant Professor Anastasija Nikiforova from the University of Tartu offered a revealing insight into how artificial intelligence can transform government open data ecosystems. In his presentation, "Data for AI or AI for data" he explored eight different roles that AI can play. For example, AI can serve as a open data portal 'cleanser' and even retrieve data from the ecosystem, providing valuable insights for policymakers and researchers on how to effectively leverage AI in open data initiatives.

 Also using AI-powered tools, we find the EU Open Research Repository launched by Zenodo in 2024, an open science initiative that provides a tailored research repository for EU research funding recipients. Lars Holm Nielsen's presentation dhighlighted how AI-driven tools and high-quality open datasets reduce the cost and effort of data cleaning, while ensuring adherence to the FAIR principles.

The day continued with a speech by Maroš Šefčovič, European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Inter-institutional Relations and Transparency, who underlined the European Commission's commitment to open data as a key pillar for transparency and innovation in the European Union.

Interoperability and data quality

After a break, Georges Lobo and Pavlina Fragkou, programme and project coordinator of SEMIC respectively, explained how the Semantic Interoperability Centre Europe (SEMIC) improves interoperable data exchange in Europe through theData Catalogue Vocabulary Application Profile (DCAT-AP) and Linked Data Event Streams (LDES). His presentation highlighted how these standards facilitate the efficient publication and consumption of data, with case studies such as the Rijksmuseum and the European Union Railway Agency demonstrating their value in fostering interoperable and sustainable data ecosystems.

Barbara Šlibar from the University of Zagreb then provided a detailed analysis of metadata quality in European open datasets, revealing significant disparities in five key dimensions. His study, based on random samples from data.europa.eu, underlined the importance of improving metadata practices and raising awareness among stakeholders to improve the usability and value of open data in Europe.

Then, Bianca Sammer, from Bavarian Agency for Digital Affairs shared her experience creating Germany's open data portal in just one year. His presentation "Unlocking the Potential" highlighted innovative solutions to overcome challenges in open data management. For example, they achieved an automated improvement of metadata quality, a reusable open source infrastructure and participation strategies for public administrations and users.

Open data today and on the horizon

The second day started with interventions by Rafał Rosiński, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland, who presented the Polish Presidency's perspective on open data and digital transformation, and Roberto Viola, Director General of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Communication Networks, Content and Technology, who spoke about the European path to digital innovation.

After the presentation of the day, the presentations on use cases and innovative proposals in open databegan. First, Stefaan Verhulst, co-founder of the New York governance lab GovLab, dubbed the historic moment we are living through as the "fourth wave of open data" characterised by the integration of generative artificial intelligence with open data to address social challenges.. His presentation raised crucial questions about how AI-based conversational interfaces can improve accessibility, what it means for open data to be "AI-ready" and how to build sustainable data-driven solutions that balance openness and trust.

Christos Ellinides, Director General for Translation at the European Commission, then highlighted the importance of language data for AI on the continent. With 25 years of data spanning multiple languages and the expertise to develop multilingual services based on artificial intelligence, the Commission is at the forefront in the field of linguistic data spaces and in the use of European high-performance computing infrastructures to exploit data and AI.

Open data re-use use cases

Reuse brings multiple benefits. Kjersti Steien, from the Norwegian digitisation agency, presented Norway's national data portal, data.norge.no, which employs an AI-powered search engine to improve data discoverability. Using Google Vertex, the engine allows users to find relevant datasets without needing to know the exact terms used by data providers, demonstrating how AI can improve data reuse and adapt to emerging language models.

Beyond Norway, use cases from other cities and countries were also discussed. Sam Hawkins, Ember's UK Data Programme Manager, underlined the importance of open energy data in advancing the clean energy transition and ensuring system flexibility.

Another case was presented by Marika Eik from the University of Estonia, which leverages urban data and cross-sector collaboration to improve sustainability and community impact. His session examined a city-level approach to sustainability metrics and CO2 footprint calculations, drawing on data from municipalities, real estate operators, research institutions and mobility analysts to provide replicable models for improving environmental responsibility.

Raphaël Kergueno of Transparency International EU explained how Integrity Watch EU leverages open data to improve transparency and accountability in the Union. This initiative re-uses datasets such as the EU Transparency Register and the European Commission's meeting records to increase public awareness of lobbying activities and improve legislative oversight, demonstrating the potential of open data to strengthen democratic governance.

Also, Kate Larkin of the European Marine Observatory, presented the European Marine Observation and Data Network, highlighting how pan-European marine data services, which adhere to the FAIR principles contribute to initiatives such as the European Green Pact, maritime spatial planning and the blue economy. His presentation showed practical use cases demonstrating the integration of marine data into wider data ecosystems such as the European Digital Twin Ocean.

Data visualisation and communication

In addition to use cases, the EU Open Data Days 2025 highlighted data visualisation as a mechanism to bring open data to the people. In this vein, Antonio Moneo, CEO of Tangible Data, explored how transforming complex datasets into physical sculptures fosters data literacy and community engagement.

On the other hand, Jan Willem Tulp, founder of TULP interactive, examined how visual design influences the perception of data. His session explored how design elements such as colour, scale and focus can shape narratives and potentially introduce bias, highlighting the responsibilities of data visualisers to maintain transparency while crafting compelling visual narratives.

Education and data literacy

Davide Taibi, researcher at the Italian National Research Council, shared experiences on the integration of data literacy and AI in educational pathways, based on EU-funded projects such as DATALIT, DEDALUS and SMERALD. These initiatives piloted digitally enhanced learning modules in higher education, secondary schools and vocational training in several EU Member States, focusing on competence-oriented approaches and IT-based learning systems.

Nadieh Bremer, founder of Visual Cinnamon, explored how creative approaches to data visualisation can reveal the intricate bonds between people, cultures and concepts. Examples included a family tree of 3,000 European royals, relationships in UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage and cross-cultural constellations in the night sky, demonstrating how iterative design processes can uncover hidden patterns in complex networks.

Digital artist Andreas Refsgaard closed the presentations with a reflection on the intersection of generative AI, art and data science. Through artistic and engaging examples, he invited the audience to reflect on the vast potential and ethical dilemmas arising from the growing influence of digital technologies in our daily lives.

In summary, the EU Open Data Day 2025 has once again demonstrated the importance of these meetings in driving the evolution of the open data ecosystem in Europe. The discussions, presentations and case studies shared during these two days have highlighted not only the progress made, but also the remaining challenges and emerging opportunities. In a context where artificial intelligence, sustainability and citizen participation are transforming the way we use and value data, events like this one are essential to foster collaboration, share knowledge and develop strategies that maximise the social and economic value of open data. The continued engagement of European institutions, national governments, academia and civil society will be essential to build a more robust, accessible and impactful open data ecosystem that responds to the challenges of the 21st century and contributes to the well-being of all European citizens.

 You can return to the recordings of each lecture here.

March is approaching and with it a new edition of the Open Data Day. It is an annual worldwide celebration that has been organised for 12 years, promoted by the Open Knowledge Foundation through the Open Knowledge Network. It aims to promote the use of open data in all countries and cultures.

This year's central theme is "Open data to address the polycrisis". The term polycrisis refers to a situation where different risks exist in the same time period. This theme aims to focus on open data as a tool to address, through its reuse, global challenges such as poverty and multiple inequalities, violence and conflict, climate risks and natural disasters.

If several years ago the activities were limited to a single day, from 2023 we have a week to enjoy various conferences, seminars, workshops, etc. centred on this theme. Specifically, in 2025, Open Data Day activities will take place from 1 to 7 March.

Through its website you can see the various activities that will take place throughout the week all over the world. In this article we review some of those that you can follow from Spain, either because they take place in Spain or because they can be followed online.

Open Data Day 2025: Women Leading Open Data for Equality

Iniciativa Barcelona Open Data is organising a session on the afternoon of 6 March focusing on how open data can help address equality challenges. The event will bring together women experts in data technologies and open data, to share knowledge, experiences and best practices in both the publication and reuse of open data in this field.

The event will start at 17:30 with a welcome and introduction. This will be followed by two panel discussions and an interview:

• Round Table 1. Publishing institutions. Gender-sensitive data strategy to address the feminist agenda.
• DIALOGUE Data lab. Building feminist Tech Data practice.
• Round Table 2. Re-users. Projects based on the use of open data to address the feminist agenda.

The day will end at 19:40 with a cocktail and the opportunity for attendees to discuss the topics discussed and expand their network through networking.

How can you follow the event? This is an in-person event, which will be held at Ca l'Alier, Carrer de Pere IV, 362 (Barcelona).

Registration

Open access scientific and scholarly publishing as a tool to face the 21st century polycrisis: the key role of publishers

Organised by a private individual, Professor Damián Molgaray, this conference looks at the key role of editors in open access scientific and scholarly publishing. The idea is for participants to reflect on how open knowledge is positioned as a fundamental tool to face the challenges of the 21st century polycrisis, with a focus on Latin America.

The event will take place on 4 March at 11:00 in Argentina (15:00 in mainland Spain).

How can you follow the event? This is an online event through Google Meet.

Registration

WhoFundsThem

The organisation mySociety will show the results of its latest project. Over the last few months, a team of volunteers has collected data on the financial interests of the 650 MPs in the UK House of Commons, using sources such as the official Register of Interests, Companies House, MPs' attendance at debates etc. This data, checked and verified with MPs themselves through a 'right of reply' system, has been transformed into an easily accessible format, so that anyone can easily understand it, and will be published on the parliamentary tracking website TheyWorkForYou.

At this event, the project will be presented and the conclusions will be discussed. It takes place on Tuesday 4 at 14:00 London time (15:00 in Spain peninsular).

How can you follow the event? The session can be followed online, but registration is required. The event will be in English.

Registration

Science on the 7th: A conversation on Open Data & Air Quality

El viernes 7 a las 9:00 EST – (15:00 en España peninsular) se podrá seguir online una conferencia sobre datos abiertos y calidad del aire. La sesión reunirá a diversos expertos para debatir los temas de actualidad en materia de calidad del aire y salud mundial, y se examinará la contaminación atmosférica procedente de fuentes clave, como las partículas, el ozono y la contaminación relacionada con el tráfico.

Esta iniciativa está organizada por Health Effects Institute, una corporación sin ánimo de lucro que proporciona datos científicos sobre los efectos de la contaminación atmosférica en la salud.

A conference on open data and air quality will be available online on Friday 7 at 9:00 EST (15:00 in mainland Spain). The session will bring together a range of experts to discuss topical issues in air quality and global health, and will examine air pollution from key sources such as particulate matter, ozone and traffic-related pollution.

This initiative is organised by Health Effects Institute, a non-profit corporation that provides scientific data on the health effects of air pollution.

How can you follow the event? The conference, which will be in English, can be viewed on YouTube. No registration is required.

Watch the event online

Deadline open for new event proposals

The above events are just a few examples of the activities that are part of this global celebration, but, as mentioned above, you can see all the actions on the initiative's website.

In addition, the deadline for registering new events is still open. If you have a proposal, you can register it via this link.

From datos.gob.es we invite you to join this week of celebration, which serves to vindicate the power of open data to generate positive changes in our society. Don't miss it!

The EU Open Data Days 2025 is an essential event for all those interested in the world of open data and innovation in Europe and the world. This meeting, to be held on 19-20 March 2025, will bring together experts, practitioners, developers, researchers and policy makers to share knowledge, explore new opportunities and address the challenges facing the open data community.

The event, organised by the European Commission through data.europa.eu, aims to promote the re-use of open data. Participants will have the opportunity to learn about the latest trends in the use of open data, discover new tools and discuss the policies and regulations that are shaping the digital landscape in Europe.

Where and when does it take place?

El evento se celebrará en el Centro Europeo de Convenciones de Luxemburgo, aunque también se podrá seguir online, con el siguiente horario:

• Wednesday 19 March 2025, from 13:30 to 18:30.
• Thursday 20 March 2025, from 9:00 to 15:30.

What issues will be addressed?

The agenda of the event is already available, where we find different themes, such as, for example:

• Success stories and best practices: the event will be attended by professionals working at the frontline of European data policy to share their experience. Among other issues, these experts will provide practical guidance on how to inventory and open up a country's public sector data, address the work involved in compiling high-value datasets or analyse perspectives on data reuse in business models. Good practices for quality metadata or improved data governance and interoperability will also be explained.
• Focus on the use of artificial intelligence (AI): open data offers an invaluable source for the development and advancement of AI. In addition, AI can optimise the location, management and use of this data, offering tools to help streamline processes and extract greater insight. In this regard, the event will address the potential of AI to transform open government data ecosystems, fostering innovation, improving governance and enhancing citizen participation. The managers of Norway's national data portal will tell how they use an AI-based search engine to improve data localisation. In addition, the advances in linguistic data spaces and their use in language modelling will be explained, and how to creatively combine open data for social impact will be explored.
• Learning about data visualisation: event attendees will be able to explore how data visualisation is transforming communication, policy making and citizen engagement. Through various cases (such as the family tree of 3,000 European royals or UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage relationships) it will show how iterative design processes can uncover hidden patterns in complex networks, providing insights into storytelling and data communication. It will also address how design elements such as colour, scale and focus influence the perception of data.
• Examples and use cases: multiple examples of concrete projects based on the reuse of data will be shown, in fields such as energy, urban development or the environment. Among the experiences that will be shared is a Spanish company, Tangible Data, which will tell how physical data sculptures turn complex datasets into accessible and engaging experiences.

These are just some of the topics to be addressed, but there will also be discussions on open science, the role of open data in transparency and accountability, etc.

Why are EU Open Data Days so important?

Access to open data has proven to be a powerful tool for improving decision-making, driving innovation and research, and improving the efficiency of organisations. At a time when digitisation is advancing rapidly, the importance of sharing and reusing data is becoming increasingly crucial to address global challenges such as climate change, public health or social justice.

The EU Open Data Days 2025 are an opportunity to explore how open data can be harnessed to build a more connected, innovative and participatory Europe.

In addition, for those who choose to attend in person, the event will also be an opportunity to establish contacts with other professionals and organisations in the sector, creating new collaborations that can lead to innovative projects.

How can I attend?

To attend in person, it is necessary to register through this link. However, registration is not required to attend the event online.

If you have any queries, an e-mail address has been set up to answer any questions you may have about the event: EU-Open-Data-Days@ec.europa.eu.

More information on the event website.