On 23, 24 and 25 November, the first edition of EU Open Data Days will take place, which can be followed online. Organised by the Publications Office and the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the aim of the event is to promote open data, showing the value of the different business models based on them.

The event will be divided into 3 days: the first two days will be dedicated to the EU DataViz 2021 conference, focusing on open data and data visualisations, while the last day will be dedicated to the final of the EU Datathon 2021.

EU Dataviz 2021 

The EU Dataviz 2021 conference will feature experts addressing techniques and best practices related to open data and its reuse in both the private and public sectors.

The content of the event has been built collaboratively. Between March and May this year, citizens from all over the world had the opportunity to submit their thematic proposals to participate as speakers. From the more than 150 proposals received, the EU DataViz 2021 Programme Committee selected the ones chosen to form the final agenda, which will take up two days.

23 November 2021: Open data

La primera jornada arrojará luz sobre los datos abiertos como base de soluciones que den forma al futuro digital de Europa.

The first day will shed light on open data as the basis for solutions to shape Europe's digital future.

It will be opened by the Director-General of the Publications Office of the European Union. Xavier Bettel, Prime Minister of Luxembourg, will follow with a presentation on data and digitisation at the heart of Luxembourg's innovation. This will be followed by a plenary session - with 30-45 minutes talks showcasing best practices, new use cases and emerging trends - and three thematic sessions - 45-60 minutes, with a more practical focus-:

• Plenary session. It will address the EU's data strategy and its path towards a single European market, as well as the situation of open data in Europe. There will also be a round table dedicated to data intelligence and its conversion into informed decisions. The Spanish side will be presented by Nuria Oliver, Co-Founder and Vice-President of ELLIS - European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems (Spain), who will talk about Valencia's experience in using data science in the fight against COVID-19.
• Thematic session 1: Creating open data ecosystems. Examples of projects contributing to open data policies, such as the European water health open knowledge (WHOW) project, will be showcased.
• Thematic session 2: Data for people. The importance of citizen participation and user-oriented projects in the field of open data will be highlighted. Among the projects to be showcased, we highlight the presentation by Antonio Ibáñez, Head of Transparency and Re-use of Information of Castilla y León, who will talk about transparency and open data in the health service of the region.
• Thematic session 3: Facilitating data reuse. Focusing on the enablers of open data, such as FAIR principles, digital literacy or mechanisms to ensure interoperability. 

24 November 2021: Data visualisation

This conference will address the importance of communicating data efficiently. It will provide good practices and techniques to build data narratives and ensure better service to citizens.

After the opening by Boštjan Koritnik, Minister of Public Administration of Slovenia, representing the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, plenary and thematic sessions will also take place.

• Plenary session. It will consist of three presentations "Data visualisation as a vector of innovation: the case of lawyers", " Applying diverse, equitable and inclusive awareness in data visualisation" and " Opening EU climate open data through data storytelling".
• Thematic session 1: From open data to data visualisation. This session will serve as a bridge between open data and data visualisation. It will discuss storytelling and empowering citizens to turn open data into insights, among other issues.
• Thematic session 2: Serving citizens with dataviz. It will focus on how to involve citizens' needs in the process of creating visualisations and will offer concrete tips, for example for data visualisations on mobile phones. 
• Thematic session 3: Using dataviz for policy making. It will show how data visualisation can support the decision-making cycle, with a particular focus on the EU public sector. 

EU datathon 2021 

The EU Datathon 2021 final will take place on 25 November. The nine finalist teams will present their solutions to the jury, which will evaluate each proposal and determine the final classification in the different categories. Among the finalists is Spain's CleanSpot, an app that seeks to encourage recycling through gamification.

The thematic challenges will be presented by a panel of experts and the event will close with an awards ceremony.

How can I attend?

Registration is free of charge. The different presentations can be followed online, but registration is required. Register and discover the latest trends and use cases of open data!