The International Week of Science and Peace , observed annually from 9 to 15 November since 1986, is a global initiative aimed at promoting the role of science in fostering peace and development. Established by the United Nations General Assembly, this week-long celebration encourages the international community to engage in activities that highlight the link between scientific progress and the maintenance of peace and security. By fostering collaboration among scientists and promoting public awareness, the week aims to build a more peaceful and sustainable world. A key focus of this week is

Open data is becoming a powerful tool in the global push for sustainability, enabling transparency, innovation, and informed decision-making across industries and governments. Through freely available datasets, everyone can access valuable insights into areas like energy consumption, carbon emissions, and environmental protection. The EU is at the forefront of this movement, providing accessible data to support sustainable practices across sectors. A key resource for these efforts is data.europa.eu , which offers diverse content, from data stories to reports and webinars, detailing

The latest paper Exploring Business Models for Public Open Data Resources emphasises the vital role of sustainable business models in transforming open data from a passive resource into a dynamic catalyst for economic growth. This paper builds on insights gathered from the data.europa.eu campaign, which included the report on New Business Models for Data-driven Services , a webinar and focus group discussions with open data professionals and enthusiasts. The report outlines key findings that demonstrate the impact and challenges of open data. While the EU has made strides in promoting open

Throughout October, the  data.europa academy  hosted two new sessions, a webinar and a workshop. Together with over 800 registrants and a handful of experts, we explored insights on the topics of safeguarding and utilising open data in research. As October is also Cybersecurity Awareness Month , participants could increase their cybersecurity skills with our webinar ‘ Safeguarding Open Data: Cybersecurity Essentials and Skills for Data Providers ’, hosted on 18 October. Together with cybersecurity experts from Capgemini, participants got to understand the cybersecurity risks related to open

In an increasingly interconnected world, open data can be seen as a powerful tool to shape and strengthen international trade agreements. The European Union (EU) has integrated open data into several aspects of its Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) . On its trade page for non-EU markets , the EU uses a transparency mechanism displaying information on doing business in a non-EU country, like Costa Rica . When available, the site also shows statistics on import and export data from an EU perspective, promoting economic growth and ensuring European businesses can stay competitive. Several EU FTAs mark

Estonia’s open data portal, avaandmed.eesti , is a comprehensive portal designed to provide unrestricted access to public sector data. Their initiative aims to enhance transparency , foster innovation , and support both commercial and non-commercial use of data. The portal offers a user- friendly interface where individuals and organisations can easily search, access, and utilise a wide range of datasets. The portal is structured to facilitate easy navigation and data retrieval of the 1900 datasets available . Users can browse datasets by categories such as environment , economy , and health

Recently, we published our study ‘ High-value datasets: Cross-country findability and comparability of metada ’, which highlights the critical need for improved findability and metadata accessibility of high-value datasets (HVDs) across European Union Member States. Conducted between April and May 2024, before the Commission Implementing Regulation in force since June 2024, the study evaluates the availability and usability of 24 datasets from Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, and Finland. It focuses on six thematic categories: geospatial, earth observation and environment, meteorological, statistics

Our data.europa portal offers a powerful tool for accessing and querying its vast repository of datasets: the SPARQL search . SPARQL, which stands for SPARQL Protocol and RDF Query Language, is a semantic query language designed for databases. It allows users to retrieve data stored in a Resource Description Framework ( RDF ) format more easily, which is possible with our datasets as all metadata is stored as RDF triples. The SPARQL tool on data.europa.eu provides a machine-readable interface that enables users to perform complex queries on the metadata of datasets available on our portal

The integration of open data into artificial intelligence (AI) systems is revolutionising various sectors across Europe. When it comes to open data, a symbiotic relationship is present. AI continues to benefit from access to open data, specifically high-quality open data, to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of AI models. At the same time, AI can analyse large volumes of open data and identify trends and patterns. Open data serves as a valuable resource for training AI algorithms, allowing them to process and analyse vast amounts of information. For instance, AI systems can leverage open

On 20 October 2024, the European Union celebrates the 9th European Statistics Day under the motto ‘Official Statistics, a window for understanding society’. This day highlights the role of official statistics in providing deep and reliable insights into society, which are essential for making informed decisions about the present and future. As we navigate an increasingly complex world, trustworthy, high-quality statistics have become even more crucial. Official statistics are produced with a commitment to independence, integrity, and accountability, adhering to international standards and best