eventos

On September 11^th, a webinar was held to review Gaia-X, from its foundations, embodied by its architecture and trust model called Trust Framework, to the Federation Services that aim to facilitate and speed up access to the infrastructure, to the catalogue of services that some users (providers) will be able to make available to others (consumers).

The webinar, led by the manager of the Spanish Gaia-X Hub, was led by two experts from the Data Office, who guided the audience through their presentations towards a better understanding of the Gaia-X initiative. At the end of the session, there was a dynamic question and answer session to go into more detail. A recording of this seminar can be accessed from the Hub's official website,[Forging the Future of Federated Data Spaces in Europe | Gaia-X (gaiax.es)]

Gaia-X as a key building block for forging European Data Spaces

Gaia-X emerges as an innovative paradigm to facilitate the integration of IT resources. Based on Web 3.0 technology models, the identification and traceability of different data resources is enabled, from data sets, algorithms, different semantic or other conceptual models, to even underlying technology infrastructure (cloud resources). This serves to make the origin and functioning of these entities visible, thus facilitating transparency and compliance with European regulations and values.

From September 25^th to 27^th , Madrid will be hosting the fourth edition of the Open Science Fair, an international event on open science that will bring together experts from all over the world with the aim of identifying common practices, bringing positions closer together and, in short, improving synergies between the different communities and services working in this field. 

This event is an initiative of OpenAIRE, an organisation that aims to create more open and transparent academic communication. This edition of the Open Science Fair is co-organised by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT), which depends on the Ministry of Science and Innovation, and is one of the events sponsored by the Spanish Presidency of the spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union. 

The current state of open science

Science is no longer the preserve of scientists. Researchers, institutions, funding agencies and scientific publishers are part of an ecosystem that carries out work with a growing resonance with the public and a greater impact on society. In addition, it is becoming increasingly common for research groups to open up to collaborations with institutions around the world. Key to making this collaboration possible is the availability of data that is open and available for reuse in research.

However, to enable international and interdisciplinary research to move forward, it is necessary to ensure interoperability between communities and services, while maintaining the capacity to support different workflows and knowledge systems. 

The objectives and programme of the Open Science Fair

In this context, the Open Science Fair 2023 is being held, with the aim of bringing together and empowering open science communities and services, identifying common practices related to open science to analyse the most suitable synergies and, ultimately sharing experiences that are developed in different parts of the world. 

The event has an interesting programme that includes keynote speeches from relevant speakers, round tables, workshops, and training sessions, as well as a demonstration session. Attendees will be able to share experiences and exchange views, which will help define the most efficient ways for communities to work together and draw up tailor-made roadmaps for the implementation of open science. 

This third edition of Open Science will focus on 'Open Science for Future Generations' and the main themes it will address, as highlighted on the the event's website, are:

• Progress and reform of research evaluation and open science. Connections, barriers and the way forward.
• Impact of artificial intelligence on open science and impact of open science on artificial intelligence.
• Innovation and disruption in academic publishing.
• Fair data, software and hardware.
• Openness in research and education.
• Public engagement and citizen science.

Open science and artificial intelligence 

The artificial intelligence is gaining momentum in academia through data analysis. By analysing large amounts of data, researchers can identify patterns and correlations that would be difficult to reach through other methods. The use of open data in open science opens up an exciting and promising future, but it is important to ensure that the benefits of artificial intelligence are available to all in a fair and equitable way. 

Given its high relevance, the Open Science Fair will host two keynote lectures and a panel discussion on 'AI with and for open science'. The combination of the benefits of open data and artificial intelligence is one of the areas with the greatest potential for significant scientific breakthroughs and, as such, will have its place at the event is one of the areas with the greatest potential for significant scientific breakthroughs and, as such, will have its place at the event. It will look from three perspectives (ethics, infrastructure and algorithms) at how artificial intelligence supports researchers and what the key ingredients are for open infrastructures to make this happen. 

The programme of the Open Science Fair 2023 also includes the presentation of a demo of a tool for mapping the research activities of the European University of Technology EUt+ by leveraging open data and natural language processing. This project includes the development of a set of data-driven tools. Demo attendees will be able to see the developed platform that integrates data from public repositories, such as European research and innovation projects from CORDIS, patents from the European Patent Office database and scientific publications from OpenAIRE. National and regional project data have also been collected from different repositories, processed and made publicly available. 

These are just some of the events that will take place within the Open Science Fair, but the full programme includes a wide range of events to explore multidisciplinary knowledge and research evaluation. 

Although registration for the event is now closed, you can keep up to date with all the latest news through the hashtag #OSFAIR2023 on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, as well as on the event's website website. 

In addition, on the website of datos.gob.es and on our social networks you can keep up to date on the most important events in the field of open data, such as those that will take place during this autumn.

Mark them on your calendar, make a note in your agenda, or set reminders on your mobile to not forget about this list of events on data and open government taking place this autumn. This time of year brings plenty of opportunities to learn about technological innovation and discuss the transformative power of open data in society. 

From practical workshops to congresses and keynote speeches, in this post, we present some of the standout events happening in October and November. Sign up before the slots fill up!

Data spaces in the EU: synergies between data protection and data spaces

At the beginning of the tenth month of the year, the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) and the European Cybersecurity Agency (ENISA) will hold an event in English to address the challenges and opportunities of implementing the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in EU data spaces.

During the conference, the conference will review best practices of existing EU data spaces, analyse the interaction between EU legislation and policies on data exchange and present data protection engineering as an integral element in the structure of data spaces, as well as its legal implications.

• Who is it aimed at? This event promises to be a platform for knowledge and collaboration of interest to anyone interested in the future of data in the region.
• When and where is it? On October 2^nd in Madrid from 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM and available for streaming with prior registration until 2:45 PM.
• Registration: link no longer available 

SEMIC Conference 'Interoperable Europe in the age of AI'

Also in October, the annual SEMIC conference organised by the European Commission in collaboration with the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union returns. This year's event takes place in Madrid and will explore how interoperability in the public sector and artificial intelligence can benefit each other through concrete use cases and successful projects.

Sessions will address the latest trends in data spaces, digital governance, data quality assurance and generative artificial intelligence, among others. In addition, a proposal for an Interoperable Europe Act will be presented.

• Who is it aimed at? Public or private sector professionals working with data, governance and/or technology. Last year's edition attracted more than 1,000 professionals from 60 countries.
• When and where is it? The conference will be held on October 18^th at the Hotel Riu Plaza in Madrid and can also be followed online. Pre-conference workshops will take place on October 17^th at the National Institute of Public Administration
• Registration: https://semic2023.eu/registration/

Aragón Open Data, the open data portal of the Government of Aragón, will present its most recent work on 15 March 2023 to present its lines of action and progress in the field of open data and linked data.

What does 'Aragón Open Data: Open and connect data' consist of?

In this meeting, which is part of the events framed in the Open Data Days 2023, Aragón Open Data will take the opportunity to talk about the evolution of its open data platform and the improvement of the quality of the data offered.

In this line, the conference 'Aragón Open Data: Open and connect data' will also focus on detailing the functioning of Aragopedia, its new linked data strategy.

Through a series of technical explanations, supported by a demo, attendees will learn how this service works, based on the new structure of Interoperable Information of Aragon (EI2A) that allows sharing, connecting and relating certain data available on the Aragon Open Data portal.

In order to detail as precisely as possible, the approach of the conference, we share the programme below:

• Welcome to the conference. Julián Moyano, coordinator of Aragón Open Data.
• Introduction to Aragón Open Data (Marc Garriga, Desidedatum)
• Improving the quality of the data and its semantisation (Koldo Z. / Susana G.)
• Previous situation and current situation
• New navigation focused on Aragón Open Data and Aragopedia data (Pedro M. / Beni)
• Explanation and Demo
• My experience with Aragopedia (Sofía Arguís, Documentalist and user of Aragón Open Data )
• Process of identification, processing and opening of new data (Cristina C.)
• Starting point and challenges encountered to achieve openness.
• Conclusions (Marc Garriga)
• Question/Comment Time

Where and when is it being held?

The technical conference 'Aragón Open Data: Open and connect data' will be held on 15 March from 12:00 to 13:30 online. Therefore, in order to attend it, interested users must fill in the form available at the following point.

How can I register?

To attend and access the online session you can fill in the following form and if you have any questions, do not hesitate to write to us at opendata@aragon.es.

Aragón Open Data is co-financed by the European Union, European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) "Building Europe from Aragon.

The University of Salamanca (USAL) hosted the symposium "Justice and Law in Data: The role of Data as a change enabler and driver for the transformation of Justice and Law". The meeting was organised by the University itself, in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice, with the aim of reflecting on data as a public good.

The first day had an institutional and academic character, with keynote lectures by experts in law and competitiveness in the country.

Opening of the event

The symposium was inaugurated by Fernando Carbajo Cascón, Dean of the Faculty of Law, María Encarnación Pérez Álvarez, Deputy Delegate of the Government in Salamanca, Federico Bueno de Mata, Academic Director of the symposium and Fabiola Solino, Head of the Support Unit of the Directorate General of Digital Transformation of the Ministry of Justice. Fabiola Solino began by highlighting how "data is a fundamental resource in all current societies and plays an essential role in the way in which public services are administered, to the point of being at the centre of any public agenda with a transformative vocation". She also highlighted how the conference would show the willingness of administrations, academia and private sector to "promote data and the application of new techniques such as robotisation and artificial intelligence in order to offer citizens a closer, more transparent, innovative and efficient public service". All of this with an inclusive and sustainable approach.

Federico Bueno de Mata highlighted three key elements of the conference: modernity, humanism - since behind the data there are people - and knowledge transfer between the different agents of public administrations, academia and companies. María Encarnación Pérez Álvarez highlighted the importance of addressing digital advances to guarantee the sustainability of the system, paying special attention to security and the guarantee of fundamental rights. Finally, Fernando Carbajo Cascón focused on the importance of data for the functioning of society and the economy: "a responsible and transparent policy of generation, transfer and access to data is fundamental for the creation, dissemination and access to knowledge, for the development of dynamic innovation for the benefit of society and the better provision of public services". In his speech, he highlighted the importance of data for the development of public policies, decision-making by public and private agents, and as a driver of solutions -many linked to artificial intelligence- that help legal operators to carry out their work in a more transparent, simple and agile way.

After the inauguration, there were several keynote speeches, focusing on the situation of justice and data in Spain, Big Data, artificial intelligence and the digitisation of justice, among other issues.

Manuel Olmedo Palacios, Secretary General for Innovation and Quality of the Public Justice Service, addressed data within the context of co-governance in the field of Justice, a system that represents a positive experience for the Ministry, insofar as it facilitates a dialogue-based ecosystem for the provision of the public service of Justice in Spain, where decisions can be taken with greater accuracy and in which one can learn from the experiences of others. He explained that the plurality of decision-making actors within the justice ecosystem is a strength for coordinated decision-making, and it is in this context that data must be managed. The need for a correct management of data is raised, without ceasing to pursue the placement and situation of the person, the citizen, at the centre of all justice policies as the only way to reduce the gaps and protect their fundamental rights in the best way possible.

The Data Manifesto, a document drawn up within the State Technical Committee for e-Justice Administration, was also discussed, where the need to reinforce the importance of data in the process of digital transformation of justice is raised. Tontxu Rodríguez Esquerdo, Secretary of State for Justice, officially presented the Data Manifesto, explaining the relevance of this document aimed at identifying the principles on which to build a public data space for the Justice sector: to define, generate, maintain, preserve, guarantee and respect the principles that must govern the processing of public data related to the activity of Justice. He also informed that access to the data by citizens and other public and private political actors is now a right, which implies the possibility of demanding from the body responsible for the elaboration and dissemination of the data as part of its activities.

Open data in the justice sector

In the afternoon, the session focused on "Open Data, AI and the Administration of Justice", first from the perspective of Constitutional Law and Administrative Law, and then from the perspective of Procedural Law.

Various speakers talked about the guarantees of rights in the framework of open data and the protection of personal data. The governance of artificial intelligence in the public legal sphere was also addressed, highlighting the importance of looking at the risks associated with three elements: the input data, what the system does with it and the output decision. To provide greater safeguards, there is a need to develop risk reviews and promote transparency. The need to have specific rules for the use of AI in the sector, to always work with human supervision and to respect fundamental rights, including procedural rights such as effective judicial protection or the presumption of innocence, was also highlighted.

Another issue highlighted was the need for data management professionals who are aware of the importance of data. These professionals must be aware of the relevance that each piece of data may have not only individually, but also when combined with other data. Furthermore, they must take into account the nature of each piece of data, especially in those areas, such as the university, where information of a different nature coexists, such as academic, health, economic data, etc.

Examples of use cases

Examples of open data reuse in the legal sector were then presented in several parallel rooms. Examples are:

• The National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Sciences spoke about digital transformation in forensic medicine and the work they carry out in the area of data-driven justice and prevention. To this end, they use tools that allow combined analysis from multiple data sources, as well as the visualisation and comprehensive exploration of data in an interactive and simple way, facilitating the creation of collaborative content in which different working groups participate. An example of its data processing work is the report on "Technological findings in traffic accident fatalities", which brings together data from different laboratories, the results of which can also be viewed on the "Justice in data" portal.

• Representatives of the Autonomous University of Madrid commented on how since 2015 they have been analysing judgments (more than 2,000 per year) from various bodies: the contentious-administrative courts, the High Courts of Justice, the National High Court and the Supreme Court. Through the analysis of this data, they try to answer questions such as at what territorial level of the administration litigiousness is concentrated, what factors influence the estimation of appeals or whether there are territorial differences in management. Thanks to these data, the aim is to improve three facets: regulatory quality, administrative activity and the jurisdictional function.

• From the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) they spoke about the application of artificial intelligence and georeferencing, using the cadastre and the land registry, to carry out municipal genealogies, to generate a correspondence of names and surnames and to be able to more easily resolve disputes related to these matters.

• The representative of the Universitat de Barcelona-Universitat de Girona talk about AI and predictive justice, focusing on the incorporation of the future behaviour of the accused as a parameter to be considered in decision-making related to the penal system through risk assessment. One example is the RisCanvi protocol, used by the Catalan Department of Justice to assess the risk of recidivism based on a series of parameters (economic capacity, beliefs, family support, etc.). In the US, in Pennsylvania, they go a step further and apply algorithms to determine the sentences to be served. The risk lies in preventing this type of solution from being discriminatory and in the importance of being transparent.

• The massive analysis of data and Artificial Intelligence to improve the control and audit of public procurement was another of the topics discussed, in this case by the representative of the University of Oviedo and NTT Data. Through the analysis of data from the Public Sector Procurement Platform and the Commercial Register, together with data from the European platform TED Tender, a search engine/recommender of companies for tenders has been created, as well as a software application to detect irregular tenders, among others.

Other talks were focused on the automation of robotic processes (RPA) to improve the efficiency of justice in tasks such as the return of economic income, the need to improve interoperability and the importance of transparency and good information management to promote competitive bidding in electronic judicial auctions.

Sharing experiences

The second day focused on sharing experiences from the public and private sector in the legal field related to data, including international experiences.

There were also parallel rooms where the ethical use of AI, the importance of universal interoperability in Justice, the use of biometric systems in Justice or the application of Machine learning for judicial notifications were discussed.

All the presentations, both those held in the auditorium and in the parallel rooms, are available through the Youtube channel of the University of Salamanca.

In short, during the two days, the willingness of all members of the legal sector, including public administrations, private organisations and academic centres, to promote the transformation of the sector, implementing innovations to improve effectiveness and efficiency, was evident. A task for which it is necessary to have quality open data that shows the reality of the sector, respecting all legal guarantees.

Open data publishers and reusers have an appointment on May 18 and 19. That is the date chosen by the Ministry of Participation, Transparency, Cooperation and Democratic Quality for the celebration of the International Congress on Open Data and Transparency, promoted through the Observatori Valencià de Dades Obertes i Transparència, together with the University of Alicante, Open Knowledge Foundation and Datause.

What is the agenda?

The event is focused on the past, present and future of open data and its role in solving challenges in fields as important as the environment or the food crisis, among others. Around thirty professionals and experts will participate, linked to data management, activism and communication, both nationally and internationally.

The conference will begin on the 18th at 10.00 and will include the following topics:

May 18:

• Agriculture challenges. The role of open data in driving sustainability, competition and the circular economy will be addressed.
• Experiences of using open data. Practical cases will be shown where open data has played a prominent role.
• Reflections on the use of open data. It consists of a debate between two expert activists in transparency, Renata Ávila (Executive Director of the Open Knowledge Foundation (OKFN) and Miguel Ongil (Founder of #Cuentasclaras).

May 19:

• Retrospective What has happened to date with access to information and open data? This debate will include the participation of the Aporta Initiative, whose representative will tell how the open data ecosystem has evolved and what is the role of datos.gob.es in it.
• The present of the data. This session will review the current situation in the opening and reuse of data.
• From Data to AI. Future trends and the role of open data as a driver of disruptive technologies will be shown.

You can see the full schedule here.

Where is it celebrated? 

The congress can be followed both in person and online. For those who want to attend in person and take advantage of the networking experience, the event will be held in the Blue Cube Auditorium of the Polytechnic City of Innovation at the UPV (third floor of building 8B).

You can also follow online way through YouTube.

Is registration necessary?

Yes. Although access is free, it is necessary to register in advance through this link. In the registration form you must indicate if you will attend in person or remotely.

You have all the information of the event in this link.

If you want to be up to date with all the news from the Department of Participation, Transparency, Cooperation and Democratic Quality of the Generalitat of Valencia, at datos.gob.es we invite you to follow its schedule, as well as his news and novelties section.

On March 5, communities around the world will join together to celebrate Open Data Day 2022. It is an annual celebration that seeks to showcase the benefits and encourage the adoption of open data policies in governments, businesses and civil society.

Throughout the day -and on upcoming dates- local groups from all corners of the world organize different actions related to the publication and reuse of data. In Spain, some activities are also being held, such as:

DATATHON 2022

• Date: From March 4 to April 30, 2022.
• Format: Online
• Organizers: University of Alicante, Miguel Hernández University, PAGODA, Dades Valencia, Cátedra Transició energética, Catedrades, Valencian Government, Polytechnic University of Valencia, University of Valencia, ACICOM and MESURA.

The Datathon 2022 kicks off on March 4, in which participants will have to use machine learning, artificial intelligence or data science tools to respond to a challenge of their choice related to the following fields:

A) Responsible production and consumption.

B) Environmental aspects (agriculture, waste, energy transition...).

C) Culture.

This is a free event. All natural persons of legal age can participate, in teams of 2 to 6 people. It is necessary to register before March 4 through eventbritte.

Prizes will be awarded in two categories: undergraduate students (€750 for each challenge) and master's, doctoral and corporate students (€500 for each challenge). In addition, in both categories, three runners-up prizes of €350 will be awarded to the winners of each challenge.

The competition will be accompanied by various informative sessions and workshops aimed at participants, which will take place throughout the competition (from March 4 to April 30, 2022). Some examples of these workshops are: "How to request information from the administration and legality of data use", "Data mining and visualization" or "Telling stories with data".

Open Data Day 2022

• Date: 4-8 March 2022.
• Format: Face-to-face and online.
• Organizers: Government of Catalonia.

The Open Government Secretariat of the Government of Catalonia also joins the celebration of the International Open Data Day, with activities from March 4 to 8.

• March 4, at 9:30 am (fase-to-face and online). The value of open data. The day will be dedicated to open data reusers. There will be a round table with experts in the field of reuse and two documents of interest will be presented: the new volume of the Open Government collection, "The value of open data and use cases", by the consultant Alícia León Molina, which collects examples of use related to open data in different countries, and the III report on data reuse prepared by the COTEC Foundation. It will be broadcasted via youtube.
• March 7, at 10h (online). Open Science and Citizen Science. Monday will be dedicated to the use of open data in the world of research. The Directorate General for Research will present CORA - Catalan Open Research and experiences from the private sector will be presented by Ideas for Change.
• March 8, at 13:30h (online): What can be the role of local governments in an emerging data economy? Representatives from the city of Rennes, France, and Catalonia will explain the RUDI data Rennes project, led by Rennes Métropole and funded by the European Union: a "social data network". This event will be held in English and French.

Open Data Day 2022: For a more effective reuse of open data

• Date: March 9, 2022, 17h
• Format: Face-to-face
• Organizers: Open Data Barcelona Initiative

Just two years after its last face-to-face event, Open Data Barcelona Initiative brings back the "face-to-face" meetings with a conference aimed at disseminating knowledge and experiences about public open data and its reuse. The evento will last from 5pm to 7pm and will be structured around two round tables:

• Opportunities linked to open data in institutions, where the new features of institutional data portals will be discussed, highlighting the datasets offered and the new functionalities that boost their reuse.
• Projects based on the reuse of open data, focusing on how to use such data in a project, highlighting its potential as a source of knowledge to solve the challenges faced by various groups.

The event is free of charge, but prior registration is required.

Other international events

In addition to the activities held in our country, events are also taking place in other parts of the world, some of which can be followed online.

For example, New York City celebrates from March 5 to 13, 2022 its Open Data Week, organized by the Office of Data Analytics of the New York City Mayor's Office and BetaNYC. This celebration occurs each year to coincide not only with Open Data Day, but also with the New York City Open Data Act, which was enacted on March 7, 2012. This year, NY Open Data Week is being celebrated in a hybrid format with both in-person and online activities. All activities are directly related to publicly available open data about New York.

Another example of an online event is the OSM Africa March Mapathon: Map Sierra Leone, an initiative that seeks to support the development of the OpenStreetMap community in Africa.

If you want to know about other activities that will be held on the occasion of Open Data Day 2022, you can visit their website.

The health situation we have been experiencing for a couple of years now had changed the way of celebrating major events to date, moving from a face-to-face to an online format.

This year, however, we are slowly beginning to see a return to the normality that existed before the pandemic. Several of the major technology events to be held in 2022 have already announced that they will be held in hybrid format, or even exclusively in person, if health conditions permit.

Here is a brief review of the events related to the world of technology and data, both public and private, that will be held over the coming months and that you should mark in red on your calendar.

Mobile World Congress (MWC)

February 28 to March 03, 2022 – Barcelona

We begin by talking about the most global technological event in our country, which is about to begin, and which aims to reconnect and reinvent the connectivity industry. It is one of the most influential events worldwide, as this congress represents the largest exhibition of telephony, Internet and mobile applications within the industry.

The MWC is attended by mobile operators, device manufacturers and service providers to create a place to facilitate networking and showcase the most innovative and current technologies.

Among the conferences that will take place at this event, we find some related to the field of data, such as ‘Strategies for energising the data economy’ or ‘The data opportunity: making mobility smart’. Also noteworthy is the conference ‘Digital policies to speed the post-Covid recovery’,   which will feature a presentation by Nadia Calviño, First Vice President of Spain and Minister of Economy and Digitalization.

Four Years From Now (4YFN)

February 28 to March 03, 2022 – Barcelona

As has become customary in recent years, the MWC will also host the internal event for start-ups 4YFN (4 Years From Now), which seeks to support contact between new companies and investors, thus facilitating access to an international network of contacts and different business opportunities. Red.es will collaborate in this event by making a selection of Spanish companies and startups to participate in the different representation spaces that are organized. Among the participating companies there are some focused on the world of data and its reuse.

In addition, 4YFN will have outstanding speakers such as Francisco Polo, High Commissioner for Spain Entrepreneurial Nation, or Carme Artigas, Secretary of State for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence, who will participate on March 1 in a session that will analyze the existing challenges in developing a European ecosystem that is favorable to the creation, growth and investment of new companies and start-ups.

OpenExpo Europe 2022

June 30, 2022 – Madrid

OpenExpo Europe is a space for the dissemination of technological innovation, digital transformation and open source in Europe. Among its main objectives is to disseminate among professionals in the technology sector the latest trends, tools and services in innovation and technology, as well as helping them to increase their network of contacts.

The OpenExpo Virtual Experience initiative emerged in 2020, following the success of the dissemination of content in online format about fields such as: cybersecurity, blockchain, AI, Virtual Reality, IoT or big data, among other topics.

As of today, the agenda of this event is not yet available. However, through this link you can pre-register for the event that will take place on June 30 at La Nave (Madrid).

Advanced Factories

March 29th to 31st, 2022 – Barcelona

The city of Barcelona will once again host this annual summit, which brings together the most cutting-edge companies in Industry 4.0. This event, European leader in advanced and digital industry, will bring together more than 17,000 professionals, in addition to offering 100 hours of conferences on fields such as robotics, industry 4.0, automation or 3D printing, among others.

Some of the central themes of this world-class meeting will be: productivity improvement, connectivity, data analysis, industrial symbiosis or reduction of the digital gap between large manufacturing factories and SMEs.

South Summit

June 08 to 10, 2022 – Madrid

Next June will see the arrival of South Summit, a contest-like showcase designed to offer more visibility to disruptive projects seeking new clients, financing or strategic partnerships. As in previous editions, it will feature investors and leading innovation companies from Spain, Southern Europe and Latin America. You can register for the start-up competition through this link.

Unlike last year, in 2022 South Summit will once again be held in a fase-to-face format in Madrid, in addition to maintaining the virtual presentations of the projects through a 100% digital omnichannel model.

IoT Solutions World Congress

May 10-12, 2022 - Barcelona, Spain

After the cancellation of the last edition last October, due to the high incidence of the pandemic in our country, this event returns with more strength in 2022. Barcelona will bring together industry experts to analyze how IoT is transforming production, transportation, logistics and public services, as well as sectors such as healthcare and energy.

The central theme of this edition will be "The new normal", and will analyze the main innovation challenges faced by companies through five thematic axes such as security, connectivity, business optimization, intelligence and customer experience.

Among the topics to be presented are some related to the world of data such as: "Data are the fuel that drives the energy transition: exploring the smart energy network at Eneco" or "Konecranes: driving business and providing commercial advantages with industrial IoT, perimeter and data analytics".

Smart City Expo World Congress

November 15-17, 2022 - Barcelona, Spain

Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC) has established itself over the last few years as a benchmark event that blends technological innovation with the Smart Cities sector. This smart cities congress will bring together once again experts, companies and entrepreneurs with the aim of collectivizing urban innovation and promoting new projects around the world.

The last editions were developed in digital format, which has led to the creation of Tomorrow.City, a digital content platform aimed at public administrations and new talents, which seeks to disseminate knowledge, promote training and promote research on an uninterrupted basis. This partnership combines the event with a digital platform open all year round and dedicated to the growth of sustainable mobility.

EU Datathon

October 20, 2022 – Online

The EU Datathon is the competition that seeks to boost the creation of products based on open data, such as mobile or web applications, that offer an answer to different challenges related to EU priorities. The deadline for submissions is March 31, 2022, with the final on October 20.

This challenge is linked to the European Union Open Data Days, organized by the Publications Office of the European Union, which last year held its first edition and will presumably hold the second one during the last months of 2022, although this information is yet to be confirmed.

Other events of interest

There are a multitude of technological events related to the field of data that can also be very interesting. We can not collect them all in detail in a single article, so here are some of the most popular both nationally and internationally:

In Spain

• Barcelona Cybersecurity Congress: May 10 to 12, 2022 in Barcelona
• CTO Summit 2022: June 24 and 25, 2022 in Valencia
• Digital Enterprise Show: June 14-16, 2022 in Malaga
• EShow: July 2022 in Barcelona and October 2022 in Madrid

Internationally

• OpenScience Conference 2022: March 08 to 10, 2022 – Online
• 9th International Data Science Summit: May 2022 - Dublin
• Learning Technologies: May 04 and 05, 2022 – London
• Gartner Data & Analytics Summit 2022: August 22-24, 2022 - Orlando, FL
• Esri User Conference: July 11-15, 2022 - San Diego, California
• AI & Big Data Expo Global 2022: December 01 and 02 - London

This has been just a selection of the main technological events that 2022 has in store for us. If you know of any other that you would like to highlight, do not hesitate to write us a comment or send us your proposal through our email contacto@datos.gob.es.

Last September, an international congress was held at the University of Alicante, which addressed some of the main challenges posed by open data and the reuse of public sector information from a legal perspective.

The inaugural conference was given by Kiko Llaneras, who made, from his own journalistic experience, a suggestive presentation on the role played by data in the communication processes during the management of the pandemic. Specifically, he explained that almost 20% of the most read news items during the pandemic were stories based on data. In his opinion, this is a trend that goes beyond circumstantial reasons and is due to a greater interest in this type of methodology, particularly in making the understanding of complex subjects more accessible. The speaker concluded by emphasizing the need to make data available in better conditions in terms of their accessibility, the formats in which they are available, their updating and their integration when they come from different sources.

The first round table of the congress was dedicated monographically to the field of tourism. Despite the efforts and progress that have been made in this essential area of the Spanish economy, the speakers highlighted two challenges still to be addressed with regard to the promotion of open data. On the one hand, the information made available by public entities is fragmented and heterogeneous, not only because of the plurality of the datasets published but, above all, because of the difficulties of integrating their automated processing; difficulties that are increased with regard to data with tourist relevance offered by private sector entities - search engines, social networks, information society service providers which, as is evident, are not subject to legislation on open data and reuse of public sector information. On the other hand, the difficulties encountered by many of the municipalities, largely due to their limited material and human resources, were highlighted when it comes to committing to advanced tourism management based on data management, which requires the support and assistance of the State and the Autonomous Communities in particular if the aim is to encourage the opening of data in this sector.

The second round table addressed the challenges posed by open data and the reuse of information in the field of public sector procurement, with a special focus on the proposal to incorporate this area into the categories of high-value data. Even though the establishment of an unavoidable legal obligation to use open and reusable formats was an important step forward in terms of contractor profiles and procurement platforms, the need to advance in the implementation of this important measure was highlighted during the debate. On the other hand, the limited scope of the legal regulation was noted, since it does not cover the entire contracting process, since it does not reach the phase related to the execution of the contract, which undoubtedly represents a major obstacle when it comes to facilitating not only accountability but also the dynamization of the market in this important economic sector. Finally, among other pending issues, emphasis was placed on the suitability of an eventual establishment of common criteria for document management by the numerous and diverse bodies and entities subject to the Public Sector Contracts Law, so as to pave the way towards a specific standardization in this sector, a necessary condition for the full integration of data when it is intended to reuse them to provide value-added services at the state or European level.

The third round table was devoted to reviewing the singularities in the field of the environment, urban planning and land use planning. In this respect, the environmental sector was highlighted, given its traditional legal regime, especially reinforced in terms of the possibilities of access to information, a regulation that undoubtedly explains why open data has a relevant potential when facing the most complicated challenges, as demonstrated by the existence of interesting specific applications. In general terms, and from a legal point of view, it was emphasized that these are sectors characterized by a significant technical component, so that open data have an undeniable value, particularly in terms of strengthening the possibilities of control by citizens and also in terms of their effective participation in these matters.

Finally, the congress closed with an international round table, which analysed the regulation of open data in several European Union States, showing that the process of transposition of Directive 2019/1024 is being irregular and, in fact, most of the European Union States have not yet approved their own regulations. Furthermore, one of the main new features of the Directive, the identification of high-value data, which is undoubtedly a tool that will play an essential role, has yet to be implemented by the European Commission.

In short, the speeches and debates that took place during the Congress showed the need to make a firm commitment to a public management model in which data and, in particular, its openness and the consequent possibility of its reuse, take on a greater role. All of this is consistent with the possibilities of digital transformation enabled by the technology available to meet the major challenges that lie ahead in the immediate future.

Content prepared by Julián Valero, Professor at the University of Murcia and Coordinator of the Research Group "Innovation, Law and Technology" (iDerTec).

The contents and views expressed in this publication are the sole responsibility of the author.

96 ideas from 33 countries. Those have been the proposals presented to the UE Datathon 2021, a competition organized by the Publications Office and the Presidency of the Council of the European Union to promote the use of open data as a basis for new ideas, innovative products and services.

Proposals could be submitted to three different categories: “A European Green Deal”, focused on promoting sustainability, “An economy that works for people”, focused on reducing poverty and inequality, and “A Europe fit for the digital age ”, which seeks improvements in competencies related to data and european strategy in the matter.

For each of these categories the jury has chosen 3 finalists.

CleanSpot, the Spanish presence in the contest

There were 12 proposals from Spanish teams for the EU Datathon 2021, one of them, CleanSpot, has achieved a place in the final, within the “A European Green Deal” category.

CleanSpot is an app that seeks to promote awareness and incentive of recycling through gamification. The app allows you to locate recycling and reuse points, such as clean points, specialized containers or collection services and centers. The novelty is that it also allows calculating the CO2 that each user avoids emitting into the atmosphere by performing a daily action such as throwing waste into the corresponding recycling container or donating it for reuse. Users can share their results and thus show the community how much they have reduced their carbon footprint, contributing to caring for the environment.

The users with the best score in the ranking receive prizes and recognition. In addition, each time the user goes to a collection or recycling point to deposit their waste, they accumulate points, which can be exchanged for discounts on municipal taxes, savings checks in local businesses or direct payments.

In addition, the app allows you to save favorite locations or services, and gives the option of receiving notifications, for example, reminders about the passage of the mobile clean point - for this service to be available in a specific municipality, prior integration is necessary -. It also allows the generation of awareness campaigns, with advice on recycling or information on specific actions in each area.

Finalists from 8 different countries

This year, the presence of finalists from multiple territories stands out. Only Italy repeats with three teams, one shared with France.

• In the category of “A European Green Deal”, CleanSpot will face each other with FROG2G, from Montenegro, and The Carbons, from India. FROG2G is an interactive visualization tool, created to offer a viable model to make Europe greener, while The Carbons allows you to compare the greenhouse gases that are emitted, for example, when you have a cup of coffee or take a drive.
• In the category "An economy that works for people", we find CityScale, from Ukraine, a tool to visualize, compare and find the best place to live; ITER IDEA, from Italy, a portal that facilitates the mobility of women in Europe; and PowerToYEUth, from Portugal, focused on locating public funding for SMEs and promoting youth employment.
• Finally, in the category “A Europe fit for the digital age”, the finalists are Democracy Game, from Greece, a virtual debate tool; TrackmyEU, from Italy and France, which makes it possible to explore EU policies, follow topics of interest and make the voice of the citizenry heard in Brussels; and VislmE-360, also from Italy, which offers a 360ᵒ view of visual impairments in the EU.

Next steps

The nine finalist teams have 5 months to develop their proposals, from June to November. Proposals will be evaluated by a jury of experts, based on criteria such as lThe open data used and the fitness for purpose. The winner will receive € 18,000, while the second and third will receive € 10,000 and € 5,000 respectively.

The award ceremony will be on November 25, 2021, within the framework of the EU Open Data Days, an event that this year has its first edition. In this event, aimed at push the use of open data in Europe to generate value, we will be able to see the various opportunities and business models offered by the reuse of public information.