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.

The University of Alicante will host the International Congress on Open Data and Reuse of Public Sector Information. The event will focus on the role of open data and its potential reuse to achieve improvements in several key areas for our country, such as tourism and the economy. It will also address the analysis and legal implications of Directive (EU) 2019/1024 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on open data and the re-use of public sector information.

This conference is part of the Project "Challenges of the Ministry PID2019-105736GB-I00DER: Open data and reuse of public sector information in the context of its digital transformation: adapting to the new regulatory framework of the European Union", whose principal investigators are Julián Valero Torrijos and Rubén Martínez Gutiérrez, and the Transparency Agreement between the University of Alicante and the Department of Participation, Transparency, Cooperation and Democratic Quality 2021.

Timetable and agenda

The Congress will take place on 23 and 24 September 2021 in online and face-to-face mode.

The opening will be given by Rosa Pérez Garijo, Councillor for Participation, Transparency, Cooperation and Democratic Quality of the Generalitat Valenciana, and Amparo Navarro Faure, Rector of the University of Alicante.

Next, Kiko Llaneras will be in charge of the inaugural conference with his speech "Open data and the reuse of public sector information: experiences from practice". Kiko Llaneras is known for his articles on data journalism in El País, where he analyses certain aspects of political, social and economic current affairs based on indicators, statistics and surveys, among other data sources.

The congress will then be based on 4 round tables, titled:

• Open Data in Tourism
• Contracting and the economic value of data
• Open Data and the Environment
• Comparative Law. Open Data and RISP in the EU context.

Each of these round tables will be attended by experts and professionals from the public, private and academic sectors. You can see the full programme here (only available in Spanish).

Do you want to participate in the Congress? There is still time to send your papers

The Congress is open to the participation of citizens and companies that want to share their knowledge and experience. Proposals related to the four round tables can be submitted, although free themes will also be accepted as long as they are in line with the objectives of the congress.

Papers must be submitted before 15 July using this form. The application consists of an abstract of a maximum of 400 words detailing the proposal. On the 21st of the same month, the organisers will send notification of acceptance of the papers, which must be defended publicly.

How to attend?

The event is free of charge, but places are limited. In order to attend, this form must be completed before 20 September 2021 at 23:59 hours. Admitted participants will receive confirmation of their registration by email.

When pre-registering, you must indicate whether you wish to attend in person or virtually. Those who choose the online option will receive an email with the link to the video call platform.

If you have any questions, you can write to cursos.deje@ua.es for administrative matters and to ruben.martinez@ua.es for academic matters.

2021 has been the year chosen by the Publications Office of the European Union to organize the first Open Data Days of the European Union. Under the name EU Open Data Days, they will take place from November 23 to 25 with the aim of “promoting the value of open data in Europe and highlighting the opportunities they offer to different business models”. The event, which will be virtual, is made up of two proposals:

• EU Dataviz 2021. On November 23 and 24 there will be a conference program focused on open data and visualizations. This program is currently in the definition phase of the agenda, seeking proposals that contribute to enhancing the digital future of Europe.
• EU Datathon 2021. On November 25, for its part, the final of the EU Datathon 2021 will be held. Through this competition, which is now in its fifth edition, the Publications Office of the European Union seeks to promote the creation of products based on open data, such as mobile or web applications, that offer a response to different challenges related to EU priorities.

The registration period to participate in the EU Dathaton has recently been opened, which will run until May 21 (for more information you can read this article). At the same time, as we anticipated, the deadline has been opened to seek speakers for the EU Dataviz, as we will see below.

Who can submit a proposal to EU Dataviz?

The call is aimed at citizens around the world interested in open data, regardless of the sectors to which they belong: academics, private entities, journalists, data visualization professionals, graphic designers and officials of international organizations, from the EU and national, etc.

Proposals submitted to EU Dataviz 2021 should be oriented towards two specific topics:

• 30-45 minute plenary speeches presenting good practices, new use cases and emerging trends on the development of open data and / or data visualizations.
• Thematic sessions of 45 to 60 minutes (including questions and answers) with a practical approach that show initiatives and results, practices to follow and practical advice.

These sessions will have to be related to the topics included in the two days of presentations.

How will the EU Dataviz 2021 conference program unfold?

The event will be divided into two days, one more focused on open data and the other on visualizations:

Day 1: Open Data - November 23, 2021

During this first day it will be revealed how open data can contribute to the digital future of Europe. The challenges and benefits of data reuse and how to make it interoperable will be discussed, along with related topics such as:

• Open data initiatives that support policy making.
• Use cases and good practices of international, national and regional entities.
• How to improve data quality, interoperability and linked open data.

Day 2: Data Visualization - November 24, 2021

The second day will be dedicated to showing examples and good practices on the presentation of data in an attractive, efficient and ethical way. In addition, the different methods of applying data visualization techniques and some related topics will be discussed, such as:

• State-of-the-art tools and technologies in data visualization
• Emerging trends in data visualization
• Powerful visualization in the age of big data

How are the proposals presented?

To participate it is necessary to fill in this form. The deadline for submitting proposals is May 21.

How will the proposals be chosen?

Proposals received will be evaluated by the EU DataViz 2021 Program Committee, according to 4 criteria.

1. Relevance of the proposal to the EU DataViz Conference, i.e. whether it can be implemented at the EU level to help shape the digital future of the region and improve the lives of its citizens.
2. Clarity and quality of the proposal.
3. Innovative approach or professional experience of the collaborator.
4. Applicability to the EU public sector and / or use of EU or European open data in the proposal.

Each criterion will be valued for a maximum of 25 points each, with 100 being the maximum possible score.

Whether you are a public body that has launched an open data initiative, a company with innovative solutions based on data or a visualization professional, from datos.gob.es we invite you to present your proposal. Good luck to all participants!

After having been postponed due to the confinement before the Covid-19, last Thursday 24 September the XVII edition of Databeers was held by videoconference, in the framework of the Hackaton Copernicus Malaga. The event could also be followed by streaming via Youtube, maintaining the open and free character of the community meetings, which started in Malaga five years ago. This new format aroused the interest of the audience, with more than a hundred people registered and a wide repercussion on social networks.

A new format with many advantages

Held in the context of the Hackaton Copernicus Malaga, this edition of Databeers focused on the projects and applications based on open data and services from the European Earth Observation Programme Copernicus.

There were five talks, all of them of short duration, informative tone and close to pecha-kucha format, given by prestigious national and international experts. A tasting of different varieties of beer was interspersed with these talks. San Miguel, a brand that has supported Databeers Málaga since 2018, brought the beers to the homes of those attending the event.

The event began with a presentation by María Sánchez, coordinator of the Initiative, who highlighted that this edition meant a great challenge in terms of organisation, given the need to carry out the event safely, but without losing its essence "through a screen, beer and networking included, differentiating us from the many webinars held nowadays". Although - commented Sánchez - the screen limits the interaction and experience that takes place in a bar, the virtual format opens up new possibilities, and made it possible to have speakers from different geographical locations and to connect many people beyond Malaga.

5 interesting talks on applications of Copernicus data

The opening speaker for this Databeers Málaga Copernicus special was Kevin Ramírez, Copernicus coordinator at Climate-KIC, who showed the potential of the initiative and its data as a tool to support a sustainable future. He was followed by Felipe Fernández, head of the Information Technology and Supercomputing Group at IHCantabria, who shared the results of the ApliCop project, designed to identify the actors in Copernicus Spain and to promote their collaboration and innovation through projects with data, some of which we have already covered in this article.

In this sense, from GMV Aerospace and Defence S.A.U., Jesús Ortuño and Julia Yagüe presented their work with remote data for sustainable forest management, while Juan Arévalo Torres, director of the Malaga-based company Randbee Consultants, focused on the way in which content and stories can be constructed, through storytelling and different visualisation techniques, to make the data attractive and understandable for citizens.

The event was closed by Sonia Castro, coordinator of open data at the public entity Red.es, who explained to those present the role of the Aporta Initiative in promoting interaction and citizen participation in the generation, use and reuse of open data. During her presentation, she toured the different sections of datos.gob.es, highlighting its usefulness for users who want both to locate new datasets and to identify use cases and keep up to date with all the new developments in the open data ecosystem in Spain. She also highlighted the guides we offer users and the interaction channels through which they can send us their requests and suggestions.

As usual, the event was recorded thanks to the collaboration of David Bueno (CEMI Málaga) and is available through the Databeers Málaga Youtube channel. Recordings of the talks and presentations used will soon be shared via www.databeersmlg.com. In this space you can find a lot of material, from this and other events, whose license allows its use and reuse. It is a good way to generate knowledge beyond the face-to-face events and the local environment.

On June 5th, the TourismKG 2018 will be held in Cáceres. It is the first international workshop that will address the application of knowledge graphs on the travel and tourism sector. This event is organized by Ontology Engineering Group, responsible for DBpedia of Spanish, the biggest semantic dataset in our language, together with TAIGER and ODI Madrid.

Knowledge graphs allow to link concepts through the integration of datasets. For this, it is necessary to represent knowledge using Semantic Web techniques, such as ontologies or vocabularies, to result in machine-readable data. Knowledge graphs are used by search engines such as Google or applications such as Siri, to improve the effectiveness of their response to users’ searches or questions.

While this technology has already been implemented in multiple domains, such as medical or e-commerce, its full potential has not yet been exploited in the field of tourism, a sector that represented 11.1% of the Spanish economy in 2016, according to OECD data.

To shed light on this topic, TourismKG 2018 will have researchers, experts and professionals who can share their knowledge. The idea is to have a debate on the challenges, opportunities and possible use cases of knowledge graphs in order to optimize this sector.

The agenda of the event has been developed in a collaborative manner, to create an inclusive event where attendees can express their concerns and solve their doubts. During the month of April, a “call for papers” was opened for all those who wished to share their work during the event. These papers should revolve around 4 possible topic of interest: "Open data, proprietary data, semantic web and tourism", "Ontologies and vocabularies for Travel and Tourism", " knowledge graphs generation and completion for Travel and Tourism", and "Techniques and applications of knowledge graphs for Travel and Torurism".

The TourismKG 2018 is a full-day workshop at the ICWE 2018 (18th International Conference on Web Engineering), that takes places at San Francisco complex in Cáceres. In its 18th edition, this event, focused on the field of design, creation, maintenance and usage of Web applications, will revolve around the theme "Enhancing the Web with Advanced Engineering".

The interest in open data is growing and proof of this is the large number of events around this subject that will be held in our country during the coming months. Here we summarize the most important ones.

A must-attend event is the Open Gov Week, which will take place from May 7th to 11th. This international event is promoted by the Open Government Partnership, a multilateral initiative of 76 countries, including Spain, to "promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to strengthen governance". The activities include courses, seminars, public debates, presentations, open days, contests and hackathons, among other activities (you can see all the activities here).

Public information opening, to promote its reuse and generate valuable services for citizens, is one of the topics that will be addressed. The opening session, entitled The Open State: Main Challenges and Opportunities for Public Authorities and Civil Society, include a panel discussion where representatives of public authorities, experts and civil society will share their vision on the value of open data and the need to protect information. This session will take place on Monday, May 7th from 9:00 a.m.

In addition, during the Open Gov Week, different activities have been organized to promote some of the Spanish open data portals. This is the case of Madrid City Council Open Data Portal. During 2 sessions - on Thursday, May 10th at 3:30 p.m. and Friday 11th at 12:00 p.m. – the people in charge of the service will explain how they manage public information access. This activity is aimed at teachers of secondary school and university.

The Transparency and Data Protection Council of Andalusia will also promote its Open Data Portal, in a session that include, among other things, simple examples of public information reuse. The event can be followed by streaming or in-person on Friday 11th at 10:30 a.m.

But not only public administrations promote events around open data, but also we increasingly see private events that address this topic, among other issues. On June 6th and 7th, the OpenExpo Europe 2018 will be held in Madrid, where experts will share the latest trends in Open Source, Free Software and Open World Economy (where open data has a prominent role). It is a professional event where companies linked to technological innovation from different fields, such as Business Intelligence, Cloud Computing, cybersecurity or IoT, will showcase their innovations and technological solutions.

Finally, it is also important to highlight the activities aimed at promoting the use of open data among the youngest citizens. On the 3rd of May, the final presentation of a pilot project of the City Council of Barcelona is held. Through a contest, 3rd and 4th ESO students have learned to use analysis tools and to elaborate proposals based on data from Open Data BCN. Another example is the Open Summer of Code, an international program to be held in July in Spain and Belgium with the aim of "providing students with the training, support and network necessary to transform open innovation projects into powerful real-world services".

These are just some of the appointments that will take place in the coming months, but every day there are more and more activities designed to give citizens an understanding of open data world, spreading its value and promoting its reuse.

Tus Datos, Mis Datos, Nuestros Datos meeting will be held next Wednesday, February 14, in the Auditorium of Medialab Prado, Madrid, from 9:30 am to 2:00 pm. Organized by Iniciativa Open Data, the event will cover the massive use of data in today's society, from different perspectives.

The event will begin with an open day session where attendees - prior registration - can visit three thematic spaces. In the first one, some national data catalog novelties (datos.gob.es) will be exposed, including information about which datasets are most used by citizens. Subsequently, Adolfo Antón, responsible for Datalab, will dedicate the second thematic space to address the key aspects for open data reuse. The third and last thematic space will be aimed at presenting the importance of data to move the city. This third space will be led by Ángeles Navarro of OpenDataSoft.

The second part of the meeting will be the Seminar Data, aimed at data managers of the Public Administration, open data professionals and digital rights and/or transparency experts. Given the target audience, access to this event will be invitation-only; although a score of places will be opened to the public the day before. The data seminar consists of a speech marathon where seven different profiles will present 7 miradas a los datos (7 looks at the data), a debate to discuss its importance, ownerhip, legal framework and opportunities for entrepreneurs and citizens, among others.

Then, there will be a round table discussion, focused on the socio-economic potential of open data, as well as the right to privacy and value generation at local level. This space will have the assistance of Juan Tomás García, from OpenSistemas, Borja Adsuara, digital strategy, public and regulatory affairs consultant, Helen Darbishire, from Access Info Europe and Elisa de la Nuez, from the Fundación ¿Hay derecho?, four experts to discuss open data as a wealth generator.

Finally, the day will end with a debate, with more than twenty renowned experts in data field. Participants will share their knowledge to develop a rights commandments based on institutional framework, in order to take advantage of data value in society.

This event´s aim is to promote open data knowledge, reuse and training among the citizens, while supporting entrepreneurial projects. An open space to reflect on governance, digital rights and data use in society to, in subsequent days, implement the conclusions to general public.

For more information, visit www.nuestrosdatos.es