Data literacy has become a crucial issue in the digital age. This concept refers to the ability of people to understand how data is used, how it is accessed, created, analysed, used or reused, and communicated.

We live in a world where data and algorithms influence everyday decisions and the opportunities people have to live well. Its effect can be felt in areas ranging from advertising and employment provision to criminal justice and social welfare. It is therefore essential to understand how data is generated and used.

Data literacy can involve many areas, but we will focus on its relationship with digital rights on the one hand and Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the other. This article proposes to explore the importance of data literacy for citizenship, addressing its implications for the protection of individual and collective rights and the promotion of a more informed and critical society in a technological context where artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly important.

The context of digital rights

More and more studies studies increasingly indicate that effective participation in today's data-driven, algorithm-driven society requires data literacy indicating that effective participation in today's data-driven, algorithm-driven society requires data literacy. Civil rights are increasingly translating into digital rights as our society becomes more dependent on digital technologies and environments digital rights as our society becomes more dependent on digital technologies and environments. This transformation manifests itself in various ways:

• On the one hand, rights recognised in constitutions and human rights declarations are being explicitly adapted to the digital context. For example, freedom of expression now includes freedom of expression online, and the right to privacy extends to the protection of personal data in digital environments. Moreover, some traditional civil rights are being reinterpreted in the digital context. One example of this is the right to equality and non-discrimination, which now includes protection against algorithmic discrimination and against bias in artificial intelligence systems. Another example is the right to education, which now also extends to the right to digital education. The importance of digital skills in society is recognised in several legal frameworks and documents, both at national and international level, such as the Organic Law 3/2018 on Personal Data Protection and Guarantee of Digital Rights (LOPDGDD) in Spain. Finally, the right of access to the internet is increasingly seen as a fundamental right, similar to access to other basic services.
• On the other hand, rights are emerging that address challenges unique to the digital world, such as the right to be forgotten (in force in the European Union and some other countries that have adopted similar legislation¹), which allows individuals to request the removal of personal information available online, under certain conditions. Another example is the right to digital disconnection (in force in several countries, mainly in Europe²), which ensures that workers can disconnect from work devices and communications outside working hours. Similarly, there is a right to net neutrality to ensure equal access to online content without discrimination by service providers, a right that is also established in several countries and regions, although its implementation and scope may vary. The EU has regulations that protect net neutrality, including Regulation 2015/2120, which establishes rules to safeguard open internet access. The Spanish Data Protection Act provides for the obligation of Internet providers to provide a transparent offer of services without discrimination on technical or economic grounds. Furthermore, the right of access to the internet - related to net neutrality - is recognised as a human right by the United Nations (UN).

This transformation of rights reflects the growing importance of digital technologies in all aspects of our lives.

The context of artificial intelligence

The relationship between AI development and data is fundamental and symbiotic, as data serves as the basis for AI development in a number of ways:

1. Data is used to train AI algorithms, enabling them to learn, detect patterns, make predictions and improve their performance over time.
2. The quality and quantity of data directly affect the accuracy and reliability of AI systems. In general, more diverse and complete datasets lead to better performing AI models.
3. The availability of data in various domains can enable the development of AI systems for different use cases.

Data literacy has therefore become increasingly crucial in the AI era, as it forms the basis for effectively harnessing and understanding AI technologies.

In addition, the rise of big data and algorithms has transformed the mechanisms of participation, presenting both challenges and opportunities. Algorithms, while they may be designed to be fair, often reflect the biases of their creators or the data they are trained on. This can lead to decisions that negatively affect vulnerable groups.

In this regard, legislative and academic efforts are being made to prevent this from happening. For example, the EuropeanArtificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) includes safeguards to avoid harmful biases in algorithmic decision-making. For example, it classifies AI systems according to their level of potential risk and imposes stricter requirements on high-risk systems. In addition, it requires the use of high quality data to train the algorithms, minimising bias, and provides for detailed documentation of the development and operation of the systems, allowing for audits and evaluations with human oversight. It also strengthens the rights of persons affected by AI decisions, including the right to challenge decisions made and their explainability, allowing affected persons to understand how a decision was reached.

The importance of digital literacy in both contexts

Data literacy helps citizens make informed decisions and understand the full implications of their digital rights, which are also considered, in many respects, as mentioned above, to be universal civil rights. In this context, data literacy serves as a critical filter for full civic participation that enables citizens to influence political and social decisions full civic participation that enables citizens to influence political and social decisions. That is,those who have access to data and the skills and tools to navigate the data infrastructure effectively can intervene and influencepolitical and social processes in a meaningful way , something which promotes the Open Government Partnership.

On the other hand, data literacy enables citizens to question and understand these processes, fostering a culture of accountability and transparency in the use of AI.  There arealso barriers to participation in data-driven environments. One of these barriers is the digital divide (i.e. deprivation of access to infrastructure, connectivity and training, among others) and, indeed, lack of data literacy. The latter is therefore a crucial concept for overcoming the challenges posed by datification datification of human relations and the platformisation of content and services.

Recommendations for implementing a preparedness partnership

Part of the solution to addressing the challenges posed by the development of digital technology is to include data literacy in educational curricula from an early age.

This should cover:

• Data basics: understanding what data is, how it is collected and used.
• Critical analysis: acquisition of the skills to evaluate the quality and source of data and to identify biases in the information presented. It seeks to recognise the potential biases that data may contain and that may occur in the processing of such data, and to build capacity to act in favour of open data and its use for the common good.
• Rights and regulations: information on data protection rights and how European laws affect the use of AI. This area would cover all current and future regulation affecting the use of data and its implication for technology such as AI.
• Practical applications: the possibility of creating, using and reusing open data available on portals provided by governments and public administrations, thus generating projects and opportunities that allow people to work with real data, promoting active, contextualised and continuous learning.

By educating about the use and interpretation of data, it fosters a more critical society that is able to demand accountability in the use of AI. New data protection laws in Europe provide a framework that, together with education, can help mitigate the risks associated with algorithmic abuse and promote ethical use of technology. In a data-driven society, where data plays a central role, there is a need to foster data literacy in citizens from an early age.

¹The right to be forgotten was first established in May 2014 following a ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union. Subsequently, in 2018, it was reinforced with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)which explicitly includes it in its Article 17 as a "right of erasure". In July 2015, Russia passed a law allowing citizens to request the removal of links on Russian search engines if the information"violates Russian law or if it is false or outdated". Turkey has established its own version of the right to be forgotten, following a similar model to that of the EU. Serbia has also implemented a version of the right to be forgotten in its legislation. In Spain, the Ley Orgánica de Protección de Datos Personales (LOPD) regulates the right to be forgotten, especially with regard to debt collection files. In the United Statesthe right to be forgotten is considered incompatible with the Constitution, mainly because of the strong protection of freedom of expression. However, there are some related regulations, such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1970, which allows in certain situations the deletion of old or outdated information in credit reports.

Content prepared by Miren Gutiérrez, PhD and researcher at the University of Deusto, expert in data activism, data justice, data literacy and gender disinformation. The contents and views reflected in this publication are the sole responsibility of the author.

The summer comes to an end and gives way to an autumn full of relevant events for the open data sector. This time of year, you can learn about technological innovation and discuss the transformative power of data in society. Take note of these free opportunities. We bring you a compilation in chronological order according to the date of celebration of trainings, conferences, events and much more. We present a first block of sessions that are confined to our country and, subsequently, we mention others of international scope, including those organised by the European Data Portal.

Webinar on data analytics augmented with artificial intelligence

IEBS business school is organising a free webinar on the use of AI for data mining, charting and predictive modelling.

• When? 4 September at 18h.
• Where? Virtual.
• More information: Sign up here to the session.

Conference 'Towards an increase in the digitalisation of Spanish cities and regions'

The Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP) is part of an initiative launched by the European Commission to support EU communities in their journey towards digital transformation, by providing resources, best practices and training for the development of digitisation strategies. This session, which will be held in person and can be followed online,will address the process of digital and sustainable transition of cities, highlighting the role of open data platforms and data spaces. 

• When? 18 September at 16h.
• Where? In person at the Palacio de Congresos (IFEMA) Madrid and it will also be available online.
• More information: Here you can read all the information about the event and access the registration link.

Conference "Data Governance for Local Entities"

The FEMP's Network of Local Entities for Transparency and Citizen Participation will hold a face-to-face seminar on how to approach open data and data governance from a practical perspective. The conference will address how to set up projects to open up and publish information at a local level.

• When? October 3rd from 10h to 17h.
• Where? In the Pilar Sinués Hall of the Paraninfo Building of the University of Zaragoza.
• More information: You can register for free here and consult the programme here.

III Congress and XIV R Users' Conference

This conference aims to provide a meeting point for R users and enthusiasts, fostering collaboration in a multidisciplinary environment and disseminating knowledge of the R language and its applications.

• When? From 6 to 8 November.
• Where? In Seville.
• More information: On the event website you can find all the information about the speakers, agenda and registration details.

III geoEuskadi Congress and JIIDE

This year, the 15th edition of the Iberian Conference on Spatial Data Infrastructures (JIIDE) is being held in conjunction with the 3rd geoEsukadi Congress. This event will showcase examples of reuse of high-value datasets, whether through OGC APIs or existing download services and interoperable formats, among other topics related to geospatial data.

• When? From 13 to 15 November
• Where? At the Europa Conference Centre in Vitoria-Gasteiz.
• More information: Participation is free of charge, and registration is required for each session, round table or workshop. It will also be possible to follow the conference in virtual mode. Consult here all the details.

If you live outside Spain, these are some events that may be of interest to you:

Science Open Days 2024

Four days will be dedicated to open research data, artificial intelligence, open educational resources and citizen science..

• When? From 2 to 5 September.
• Where? In Lausanne (Switzerland).
• More information: Check the programme per day and register here.

"Data for Innovation" conference

This event organised by the European Commission and DG Connect will address the opportunities and challenges related to Data Law and European Data Spaces. It will be a space for debate on the future of the data economy in Europe. In addition, it will be possible to follow the event online at this link.

• When? 11 September from 10h to 16h.
• Where? At the Karel van Miert Auditorium in Brussels.
• More information: Check the programme and register here. Follow him online at here.

European open data portal online events

In September, data.europa.eu will present two webinars: one on geospatial trends in the age of digital twins and the other on global perspectives on open data excellence.

• When?
  
  • Emerging geospatial trends 2024: opportunities for data.europa.eu in the age of digital twins: 13 September at 10 a.m.
  • Beyond Europe: global perspectives on open data excellence: 20 September at 10 a.m.
• Where? Virtual.
• More information: Both webinars require prior registration. All information on these seminars, as well as on future events, can be found on the european open data portal.

These are some of the events that are scheduled for this autumn. In any case, don't forget to follow us on social media so you don't miss any news about innovation and open data. We are on Twitter y LinkedIn. You can also write to us at dinamizacion@datos.gob.es if you would like us to add another event to the list or if you need extra information.

The Provincial Council of Bizkaia the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) and the Bilbao City Council collaborate in the Bilbao Bizkaia Open Data Classroom an initiative that aims to develop the use of open data from the two Biscayan institutions (Provincial Council and City Council) for use in university projects. The ultimate goal is that, thanks to this re-use, public services can be improved and new knowledge can be generated to contribute to the resolution of social problems.

The initiative, aimed at university students as well as teaching and research staff, was born as a way to research staff, was born as a a collaboration agreement between the three administrations (Provincial Council of Bizkaia, Bilbao City Council and UPV/EHU). For this purpose, other agreements made with the Bilbao School of Engineering for the creation of Business Classrooms were taken as a reference, but in this case it will be an open data classroom, which will promote the opening of data generated and the reuse of public information.

The Bilbao Bizkaia Open Data Classroom has been in operation since 2022 and its operation is similar to that of the twelve Business Classrooms that were already in operation at the Bilbao School of Engineering. These company classrooms are laboratory-classrooms within the school, created and financed by companies and institutions to promote their innovation activities. In this sense, as the organisers of the Aula state, "they are an effective instrument of collaboration between the Departments of the Bilbao School of Engineering and the business world, both in activities related to research, technological development and innovation and in everything related to training".

Open data for innovation in the classroom

 In addition to developing projects based on the reuse of open data that improve the services provided by the regional and municipal authorities, the Aula also creates data visualisations based on open information processing initiatives proposed by the university community with the aim of improving the welfare of citizens. Another of its areas of work is the implementation of training activities that contribute to the improvement of the digital skills of the university community.

During the first edition of the Bilbao-Bizkaia Open Data Classroom, in the 2022-2023 academic year, the students developed projects on the reuse of data on recycling or outdoor activities, among others. All of them were created using regional data. You can consult the projects here: https://sites.google.com/view/opendatabilbaobizkaia/home?authuser=0.

How can I join Aula Open Data Bilbao-Bizkaia?

The Aula Open data Bilbao Bizkaia has its own space in the headquarters of the Bilbao School of Engineering, in San Mamés. This space has been fitted out thanks to a grant awarded by the Provincial Council of Bizkaia and the City Council of Bilbao, which also collaborate by financing the management costs of the classroom.

The programme is aimed at engineering bachelor's and master's degree students carrying out their bachelor's and master's degree final projects, respectively. However, it is not necessary to be in the final year of a Bachelor's or Master's degree to participate in the Aula. The initiative is open to anyone with an interest in data.

Training in Power BI and data analysis toolsis provided at the beginning of the course.

The programme is free of charge, and students working under the agreement are paid. The selection process is by CV.

In the following link you can find all the information about the Classroom.

https://www.aulaopendatabilbaobizkaia.eus/aula_es.html

On September 14th, the II National Open Data Meeting took place under the theme "Urgent Call to Action for the Environment" at the Pignatelli building, the headquarters of the Government of Zaragoza. The event, held in person in the Crown Room, allowed attendees to participate and exchange ideas in real-time.

The event continued the tradition started in 2022 in Barcelona, establishing itself as one of the main gatherings in Spain in the field of public sector data reuse. María Ángeles Rincón, Director-General of Electronic Administration and Corporate Applications of the Government of Aragon, inaugurated the event, emphasizing the importance of open data in terms of transparency, reuse, economic development, and social development. She highlighted that high-quality and neutral data available on open data portals are crucial for driving artificial intelligence and understanding our environmental surroundings.

The day continued with a presentation by María Jesús Fernández Ruiz, Head of the Technical Office of Open Government of the City of Zaragoza, titled "Why Implement Data Governance in Our Institutions?" In her presentation, she stressed the need to manage data as a strategic asset and a public good, integrating them into governance and management policies. She also emphasized the importance of interoperability and the reuse of large volumes of data to turn them into knowledge, as well as the formation of interdisciplinary teams for data management and analysis.

The event included three panel discussions with the participation of professionals, experts, and scientists related to the management, publication, and use of open data, focusing on environmental data.

The first panel discussion highlighted the value of open data for understanding the environment we live in. In this video, you can revisit the panel discussion moderated by Borja Carvajal of the Diputación de Castellón: II National Open Data Meeting, Zaragoza, September 14, 2023 (morning session).

Secondly, Magda Lorente from the Diputación de Barcelona moderated the discussion "Open Data, Algorithms, and Artificial Intelligence: How to Combat Environmental Disinformation?" This second panel featured professionals from data journalism, science, and the public sector who discussed the opportunities and challenges of disseminating environmental information through open data.

Conclusions from Challenges 1 and 2 on Open Data: Interadministrative Collaboration and Professional Competencies

After the second panel discussion, the conclusions of Challenges 1 and 2 on open data were presented, two lines of work defined at the I National Open Data Meeting held in 2022.

In last year's conference, several challenges were identified in the field of open data. The first of them (Challenge 1) involved promoting collaboration between administrations to facilitate the opening of data sets and generate valuable exchanges for both parties. To address this challenge, annual work was carried out to establish the appropriate lines of action.

You can download the document summarizing the conclusions of Challenge 1 here: https://opendata.aragon.es/documents/90029301/115623550/Reto_1_encuentro_datos_Reto_1.pptx

On the other hand, Challenge 2 aimed to identify the need to define professional roles, as well as essential knowledge and competencies that public employees who take on tasks related to data opening should have.

To address this second challenge, a working group of professionals with expertise in the sector was also established, all pursuing the same goal: to promote the dissemination of open data and thus improve public policies by involving citizens and businesses throughout the opening process.

To resolve the key issues raised, the group addressed two related lines of work:

1. Defining competencies and basic knowledge in the field of open data for different public professional profiles involved in data opening and use.
2. Identifying and compiling existing training materials and pathways to provide workers with a starting point.

Key Professional Competencies for Data Opening

To specify the set of actions and attitudes that a worker should have to complete their work with open data, it was considered necessary to identify the main profiles in the administration needed, as well as the specific needs of each position. In this regard, the working group has based its analysis on the following roles:

• Open Data Manager role: responsible for technical leadership in promoting open data policies, data policy definition, and data model activities.
• Technical role in data opening (IT profile): encourages execution activities more related to system management, data extraction processes, data cleaning, etc., among others.
• Functional role in data opening (service technician): carries out execution activities more related to selecting data to be published, quality, promotion of open data, visualization, data analytics, for example.
• Use of data by public workers: performs activities involving data use for decision-making, basic data analytics, among others. Analyzing the functions of each of these roles, the team has established the necessary competencies and knowledge for performing the functions defined in each of these roles.

You can download the document with conclusions about professional capabilities for data opening here: https://opendata.aragon.es/documents/90029301/115623550/reto+2_+trabajadores+p%C3%BAblicos+capacitados+para+el+uso+y+la+apertura+de+datos.docx

Training Materials and Pathways on Open Data

In line with the second line of work, the team of professionals has developed an inventory of online training resources in the field of open data, which can be accessed for free. This list includes courses and materials in Spanish, co-official languages, and English, covering topics such as open data, their processing, analysis, and application.

You can download the document listing training materials, the result of the work of Challenge 2's group, here: [https://opendata.aragon.es/datos/catalogo/dataset/listado-de-materiales-formativos-sobre-datos-abiertos-fruto-del-trabajo-del-grupo-del-reto-2

In conclusion, the working group considered that the progress made during this first year marks a solid start, which will serve as a basis for administrations to design training and development plans aimed at the different roles involved in data opening. This, in turn, will contribute to strengthening and improving data policies in these entities.

Furthermore, it was noted that the effort invested in these months to identify training resources will be key in facilitating the acquisition of essential knowledge by public workers. On the other hand, it has been highlighted that there is a large number of free and open training resources with a basic level of specialization. However, the need to develop more advanced materials to train the professionals that the administration needs today has been identified.

The third panel discussion, moderated by Vicente Rubio from the Diputación de Castellón, focused on public policies based on data to improve the living environment of its inhabitants.

At the end of the meeting, it was emphasized how important it is to continue working on and shaping different challenges related to the functions and services of open data portals and data opening processes. In the III National Open Data Meeting to be held next year in the Province of Castellón, progress in this area will be presented.

In recent years, we have been witnessing a technological revolution that increasingly pushes us to broaden our training to adapt to the new digital devices, tools and services that are already part of our daily lives. In this context, training in digital skills is more relevant than ever.

Last October, the European Commission, led by its President Ursula Von Der Leyen, announced its intention to make 2023 the "European Year of Skills", including digital skills. The reason lies in the difficulties that have been identified among European citizens in adapting to new technologies and exploiting their full potential, especially in the professional sphere.

The European digital skills gap

According to data provided by Eurostat, more than 75% of EU companies have reported difficulties in finding professionals with the necessary skills to do the job they are looking for. Moreover, the European Labour Agency warns that there is a severe shortage of ICT specialists and STEM-qualified workers in Europe. This is exacerbated by the fact that currently only 1 in 6 IT specialists is female.

When it comes to digital skills, the figures are not flattering either. As noted in the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), based on data from 2021, only 56% of the European population possesses basic digital skills, including information and data literacy, communication and collaboration, digital content creation, security and problem-solving skills.

EU citizens with the least basic digital skills by country. Source:  Eurostat, 2022.

European initiatives to promote the development of digital competences

As mentioned above, improving education and digital skills is one of the major objectives that the European Commission has set for 2023. If we look at the longer term, the goal is more ambitious: The EU aims for at least 80% of EU adults to have basic digital skills such as those mentioned above by 2030. In terms of the professional sector, the target focuses on having around 20 million ICT professionals, with a significant number of women in the sector.

In order to realise these objectives, there are a number of measures and initiatives that have been launched at European level. One of them stems from the European Skills Agency, whose action points 6 and 7 are focused on improving all relevant skills for the green and digital transitions, as well as increasing the number of ICT graduates.

Through the NextGenerationEU funds and its Resilience and Recovery Mechanism, EU member states will be eligible for support to finance digital skills-related reforms, as €560 million will be made available for this purpose.

In addition, other EU funding programmes such as the Digital Europe Programme (DEP) or the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) will respectively offer financial support for the development of education programmes specialised in digital skills or the launch of the European Digital Skills and Jobs Platform to make information and related resources available to citizens.

Alongside these, there are also other initiatives dedicated to digital skills training in the Digital Education Action Plan, which has created the European Centre for Digital Education, or in the mission of the Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition, which aims to raise awareness and address the digital skills gap together with public administrations, companies and NGOs.

The importance of open data in the 'European Year of Digital Skills'.

In order to promote the development of digital skills among European citizens, the European open data portal carries out several actions that contribute to this end and where open data plays a key role. Along these lines, Data Europa remains firmly committed to promoting training and the dissemination of open data. Thus, in addition to the objectives listed below, it is also worth highlighting the value at the knowledge level that lies behind each of the workshops and seminars programmed by its academic section throughout the year.

• To support Member States in the collection of data and statistics on the demand for digital skills in order to develop specific measures and policies.
• Work together with national open data portals to make data available, easily accessible and understandable.
• Provide support to regional and local open data portals where there is a greater need for help with digitisation.
• Encourage data literacy, as well as the collection of use cases of interest that can be reused.
• Develop collaborative environments that facilitate public data providers in the creation of a smart data-driven society.

Thus, just as data.europa academy functions as a knowledge centre created so that open data communities can find relevant webinars and trainings to improve their digital skills, in Spain, the National Institute of Public Training includes among its training options several courses on data whose task is to keep public administration workers up to date with the latest trends in this field.

In this line, during the spring of 2023, a training on Open Data and Information Reuse will take place, through which an approach to the open data ecosystem and the general principles of reuse will be carried out. Likewise, from 24 May to 5 June, the INAP is organising another course on the Fundamentals of Big Data, which will address blocks of knowledge such as data visualisation, cloud computing, artificial intelligence and the different strategies in the field of Data Governance.

Likewise, if you are not a public sector worker, but you are interested in expanding your knowledge of open data, artificial intelligence, machine learning or other topics related to the data economy, in the blog and documentation section of datos.gob.es you can find adapted training materials, monographs on various topics, case studies, infographs and step-by-step visualisations that will help you to understand more tangibly the different theoretical applications involving open data.

At datos.gob.es, we have prepared publications that compile different free training courses on different topics and specialisations. For example, on artificial intelligence or data visualisations.

Finally, if you know of more examples or other initiatives dedicated to fostering digital skills both at national and European level, do not hesitate to let us know through our mailbox dinamizacion@datos.gob.es. We look forward to all your suggestions!

The pandemic situation we have experienced in recent years has led to a large number of events being held online. This was the case of the Iberian Conference on Spatial Data Infrastructures (JIIDE), whose 2020 and 2021 editions had a virtual format. However, the situation has changed and in 2022 we will be able to meet again to discuss the latest trends in geographic information.

Seville will host JIIDE 2022

Seville has been the city chosen to bring together all those professionals from the public administration, private sector and academia interested in geographic information and who use Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDI) in the exercise of their activities.

Specifically, the event will take place from 25 to 27 October at the University of Seville. You can find more information here.

Focus on user experience

This year's slogan is "Experience and technological evolution: bringing the SDI closer to citizens".  The aim is to emphasise new technological trends and their use to provide citizens with solutions that solve specific problems, through the publication and processing of geographic information in a standardised, interoperable and open way.

Over three days, attendees will be able to share experiences and use cases on how to use Big Data, Artificial Intelligence and Cloud Computing techniques to improve the analysis capacity, storage and web publication of large volumes of data from various sources, including real-time sensors.

New specifications and standards that have emerged will also be discussed, as well as the ongoing evaluation of the INSPIRE Directive.

Agenda now available

Although some participations are still to be confirmed, the programme is already available on the conference website. There will be around 80 communications where experiences related to real projects will be presented, 7 technical workshops where specific knowledge will be shared and a round table to promote debate.

Among the presentations there are some focused on open data. This is the case of Valencia City Council, which will talk about how they use open data to obtain environmental equity in the city's neighbourhoods, or the session dedicated to the "Digital aerial photo library of Andalusia: a project for the convergence of SDIs and Open-Data".

How can I attend?

The event is free of charge, but to attend you need to register using this form. You must indicate the day you wish to attend.

For the moment, registration is open to attend in person, but in September, the website of the conference will offer the possibility of participating in the JIIDE virtually.

Organisers

The Jornadas Ibéricas de Infraestructuras de Datos Espaciales (JIIDE) were born from the collaboration of the Directorate General of Territory of Portugal, the National Geographic Institute of Spain and the Government of Andorra. On this occasion, the Institute of Statistics and Cartography of Andalusia and the University of Seville join as organisers.

How time flies! It seems like only yesterday when, at this time of year, we were writing our letter to Santa Claus and the Three Wise Men asking them for our most sincere wishes. Once again, Christmas is here to remind us of the magic of reuniting with our loved ones, but it is also the perfect time to enjoy and rest.

For many, within that Christmas happiness is the passion for reading. What better time to enjoy a good book than these winter days under the warmth of home? Novels, comics, essays... but also guides or theoretical books that can help you expand your knowledge related to your field of work. Therefore, as every year, we have asked our pages -the collaborators of datos.gob.es- the best recommendations on books related to data and technology to offer you some ideas that you can include in your letter this year, if you have behaved well.

Telling your Data Story: Data Storytelling for Data Management, Scott Taylor (The Data Whisperer)

What is it about? The author of this book offers us a practical guide to explain and make us understand the strategic value of data management within the business environment.

Who is it for? It is focused on working professionals interested in improving their skills both in managing and carrying out a company's data plan, as well as in handling tools to be able to clearly explain their actions to third parties. Its target audience also includes data scientists interested in bringing this discipline closer to the business sector.

Language: English

The art of statistics: Learning from data, David Spiegelhalter

What is it about? This book shows readers how to derive knowledge from raw data and mathematical concepts. Through real-world examples, the author tells us how data and statistics can help us solve different problems, such as determining the luckiest passenger on the Titanic or whether a serial killer could have been caught earlier, among others.

Who is it for? If you are passionate about the world of statistics and curious data, this book is for you. Its readability and full of examples taken from the world around us makes this book an interesting idea to include in your letter to the Three Wise Men this year.

Language: English

Big Data. Conceptos, tecnologías y aplicaciones, David Ríos Insúa y David Gómez Ullate Oteiza

What is it about? This new CSIC book brings readers closer to big data and its applications in politics, healthcare and cybersecurity. Its authors, David Ríos and David Gómez-Ullate describe the technology and methods used by data science, explaining its potential in various fields.

Who is it for? Anyone interested in expanding their knowledge of current scientific and technological issues will find this book more than interesting. Its simple and accessible explanations make this manual a pleasant and friendly text for all types of readers.

Language: Spanish

Data Analytics with R: A Recipe book, Ryan Garnett

What is it about? As if it were a recipe book! This is how Ryan Garnet presents this book dedicated to explaining in an entertaining and very practical way to the readers the data analysis focused on the R language.

Who is it for? This book is a very interesting option for both programmers and data analysis enthusiasts who want to discover more about R. Its structure in the form of recipes to explain this field makes it easy to understand. In addition, you can download it for free.

Language: English

Datanomics, Paloma Llaneza

What is it about? This book reveals with data, reports and proven facts what technology companies are really doing with the personal data we give them and how they profit from it.

Who is it for? It is a document of great interest to all citizens. The fact that the information it contains is reinforced with supporting reports makes it lighter and more enjoyable to read.

Language: Spanish

Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us about Who We Really Are, Seth Stephens-Davidowitz

What is it about? Did you know that users surfing the Internet expose a total of 8 billion gigabytes of data every day? The author shows us in this book how the data we provide about our searches reveal our fears, desires and behaviors, but also conscious and unconscious biases.

Who is it for? This book is aimed at anyone looking to expand their knowledge about how we express ourselves in the digital age. If you would like answers to questions such as whether where we go to school can influence our future success, this book is for you.

Language: English

As in previous years, this list is just a small selection that we have made based on the recommendations suggested by some of the experts who collaborate in datos.gob.es, as well as some of the members of this team. Undoubtedly, the world is full of really interesting books on data and technology.

Do you know of any more that we should not forget in our letter to the Three Wise Men? Leave us a comment or send us an email to dinamizacion@datos.gob.es, we will be happy to read it!

In the Action Plan of the International Open Data Conference, capacity development has become a priority within the international open data movement. After all, the need for training tools is essential for leaders responsible for PSI policies, data producers and reusers, public and private sector, and even citizens. For this reason, providing training tools that allow the different agents to advance in the openness and re-use of public data is a priority task.

To this end, eight training units have been developed within the dissemination, awareness raising and training line of Iniciativa Aporta, aimed at all types of public: from citizens who read for the first time about open data to public employees, responsible for open information initiatives who want to expand their knowledge in the field. 

The training units are designed to understand the basic concepts of the open data movement, to know best practices in the implementation of open data policies and their re-use, methodological guidelines for open data, technical regulations such as DCAT-AP and NTI-RISP, in addition to the use of data processing tools, among other aspects.

In the development of resources, two types of learning have been taken into account. Learning by discovery, oriented to extend the knowledge to solve the doubts and reflections raised, and significant learning based on prior knowledge, through the use of practical examples to contextualize and apply the concepts treated.

In addition, the training modules contain complementary materials through links to external pages and documents to be downloaded without connection. In this way, the student is given the opportunity to enhance his knowledge and familiarize himself with relevant sources to obtain reliable and up-to-date information about the open data sector.

All units are distributed under the Creative Commons Share-Alike Attribution Licence (CC-BY-SA) which allows copying, distributing the material in any medium or format and adapting it to create new resources from it.

The training material developed by Iniciativa Aporta consists of eight didactic units that address the following contents of the open data sector: 

1. Basic concepts, benefits and barriers of open data
2. Legal framework
3. Trends and best practices on the implementation of open data practices
4. The re-use of public data on its transformative role
5. Methodological guidelines for open data
6. DCAT-AP and NTI-RISP
7. Use of basic tools for data treatment
8. Best practices in the design of APIs and Linked Data

Each unit is designed in a way the student expands his knowledge on the open data sector. In order to facilitate their understanding, all of them have a similar structure that includes objectives, contents, evaluation activities, practical examples, complementary information and conclusions.

All the training units can be done online, directly from the datos.gob.es or, in its absence, it is also possible to download them on the user's device and even load it on an LMS platform.

Each unit is independent; enabling the student to acquire the necessary knowledge in a specific subject according to their training needs. However, those students who wish to have a more complete view of the PSI sector have the opportunity to perform the complete series of eight training units in order to know in depth the most relevant aspects of open data initiatives.

The training units are available in the "Documentation" section under the category "Training materials" to be carried out through the online portal or to be downloaded. 

Training materials of the Aporta Initiative

 

Once again, Barcelona City Council is organising the Barcelona Dades Obertes Challenge, now in its fourth year. The aim of this competition is to bring the benefits of open data closer and to promote its use in the city's educational centres.

What does the challenge consist of? This year there are new changes!

Like last year's edition, this is a competition for the city's students to develop real projects of analysis and/or interpretation, based on the use of datasets included in the Open Data BCN portal.

The main objective of this initiative is for students to acquire a critical vision when proposing improvements related to the city and its citizens, while discovering the potential and usefulness of open data.

Un año más, el Ayuntamiento de Barcelona vuelve a organizar el Reto Barcelona Dades Obertes, que cumple ya su cuarta edición. Este concurso tiene como finalidad acercar los beneficios de los datos abiertos y promover su uso en los centros educativos de la ciudad.

What are the differences from the previous edition?

The exceptional circumstances we are currently experiencing mean that the Barcelona Dades Obertes 2021 Challenge has to be adapted to a new context that is committed to digitisation. Therefore, this will be the modality chosen both for the training of the teaching staff and for the presentation of the students' work.

Another novelty is that this year other open datasets can also be used, in addition to those published on the Open Data BCN portal.

Who can participate?

The competition is aimed at students in the 3rd and 4th year of ESO, as well as students in training courses at schools in the city of Barcelona.

In addition, those teachers can take advantage of a specific training plan on open data that focuses on learning general open data concepts, the Open Data BCN portal and tools for processing and representing data.

Procedure and deadlines for submission of applications

Participating schools must submit a single project chosen from all those prepared by their students. This will represent them and will be evaluated by the competition jury, according to the established criteria.

The deadline for the presentation of the works will open on 12 April 2021 and will end on 30 April 2021. The finalist projects will be announced on 18 May 2021.

The representatives of the 10 best projects will also be invited to the award ceremony to be held from 24 to 30 May 2021.

Discover some of the finalist projects of the 2020 edition

Those centres that wish to participate can draw inspiration from the work presented in previous years. In the first edition, which dates from 2018, the project "La cohesió social va per barris" (Social cohesion goes by neighbourhoods) was highlighted. This project analysed the social cohesion indices (SCI) of the different neighbourhoods of the city, thus allowing a comparison of inequalities. In the second edition, the first prize went to "La gentrificació als barris a Barcelona" (Gentrification in the neighbourhoods in Barcelona), which showed the process of urban transformation caused by strategic speculative actions.

The third edition of the Barcelona Dades Obertes 2020 Challenge was held virtually because of the exceptional circumstances present at that time. In this case there was no winning project, but rather, as it was a unique edition, all the projects were considered finalists just for the fact of participating. All were evaluated by the jury of experts, whose assessment can be seen in this link.

How can I participate?

Although the deadline for submitting entries will not open until next year - 12 April 2021, as mentioned above -, several centres have already registered to participate in the specific training plan for open data of the Barcelona Open Data Challenge Fourth edition 2021. Registration for the training remains open and is being carried out via the Barcelona Education Consortium. Likewise, the centres can present a project to the competition without previous attendance to the training as it is not an obligatory requirement.

You can follow all the information about the Barcelona Dades Obertes Challenge on twitter under hashtag #OpenDataBCN. Also, if you have any doubt or question you can contact the organization through this form.

In order to continue with the dissemination of geographical knowledge in society and to encourage the study of Spanish geography and the interaction of young people, the National Geographic Institute (IGN) has created a series of educational materials aimed at secondary and high school students. To create these contents, the IGN has used their own geographic data, that are shared openly in its Download Center, and maps from its viewers, such as the Interactive National Atlas of Spain.

With these training materials, the IGN aims to provide interesting and attractive information on Spanish geography in an interactive way for young people to become familiar with cartographic systems, maps, coordinates, etc.

Until now, these materials were available in Spanish, but now they can also be found in English, to continue strengthening materials in bilingual education and, at the same time, contributing to their dissemination beyond our borders.

Specifically, these 4 contents have been translated:

1. Territorial inequalities

The activity on territorial inequalities is focused on students between 16 and 18 years old (Bachillerato). The objective is to show in a synthesized way and from different perspectives how human occupation, communication infrastructures or the physical environment (north/south, inland/coast, lowlands/mountains, mainland/islands...) generate a series of differences that characterize the current Spanish society and that are manifested at different scales.

This interactive and educational resource will analyse the territorial inequalities of Spain as a historical process in which economic, political, social and geographical factors come together. For this purpose, data and maps are used not only from the IGN, but also from different entities such as the INE.

2. Economy and urban features

This new activity aimed at high school students is especially focused on knowing the economic characteristics that define 5 Spanish towns (Villablino, Benidorm, El Ejido, Avilés and Zaragoza). In order to study each of them and know their main economic activity, the student must answer several questions by researching through different resources such as: maps, photographs, orthoimages, graphics...

The aim of this exercise is for young people to obtain all the information through the Internet and the different platforms, such as the Geoportal of the National Atlas of Spain, in addition to the topographic resources offered by the National Geographic Institute. What is the ultimate goal? To show students, in the most interactive way, the endless documentation and public information available to citizens and through which they can recognize the characteristics of Spanish populations and learn to distinguish them according to their predominant function.

3. Physical environment and settlement

The third activity is a new exercise in which students between 12 and 16 years old (Secondary) must look for information in several maps to solve the issues raised in the activity.

They must answer questions about why the city has a certain organization, how it is oriented, the layout of its streets and what the reasons are that justify its urban morphology. To answer the questions, they have a series of IGN geolocation services to make the search. These are: CartoCiudad to search for postal codes, streets or house numbers, and the Basic Geographic Nomenclature of Spain for population entities, municipalities and all the toponyms of the country.

4. Spain, 8,000 kilometres of coastline

The following activity delves into the study of the Spanish coastal landscape through definitions, photographs, geographic displays and the use of maps using the National Geographic Information System of Spain (SignA) of the IGN. The exercise, aimed mainly at high school students, tries to show students the different geographical features that are characteristic of the Spanish coast (estuaries, deltas ...), through the management of coordinates in the application SignA.