On Friday 26 May 2023, the data.europa academy hosted the webinar ‘Stories of use cases: Open data and a new push for European democracy’. This was the third webinar in the series ‘Stories of use cases’, where open data-driven initiatives share their stories on how open data supports them in aligning to the European Commission’s political priorities 2019-2024 . This session focused on a new push for European democracy . To address its main challenges, the European Union has defined six priorities for the political and policy agenda until 2024. Initiatives in light of the priority ‘ a new push

On 9 and 10 June 2023, the fifth edition of the European Youth Event (EYE) took place, bringing thousands of young people together to share ideas on Europe’s future. Participants interacted, inspired each other and exchanged views with experts, activists, influencers and decision-makers. During the EYE , participants had the opportunity to join panel debates, workshops, artistic activities and stands covering a variety of topics such as culture, economy and the environment. Given the upcoming European Elections in 2024, activities related to democracy and participation were highlighted under

Open data brings multiple benefits, but understanding its real impact is an essential action that data.europa.eu continues to explore. In the fifth course of the restructured data.europa academy , ‘ Measuring the impact of open data ’, you will learn more about different methods to measure impact in Europe, the importance of reuse and how our research showcased in the Use Case Observatory and the annual Open Data Maturity assessment contributes to measuring the impact of open data. The course covers five different lessons. It begins with an e-learning on the importance of open data and how it

On Thursday, April 20, the European Commission and the Slovenian Ministry of Digital Transformation hosted a webinar for the country’s civil servants, aiming to promote the use of more and better data in policymaking and public administration. The event specifically highlighted the support available from the European Commission to Member States, including the Big Data Test Infrastructure (BDTI) service. Data is vital to provide better services to citizens and drive innovation. However, the public sector faces challenges related to data skills and technology which hinder their capabilities. The

The fourth course of the restructured data.europa.eu academy , titled ‘ Creating your business with open data ’ explains the ways in which data can strengthen your business. Through webinars, e-learning and reading materials you will learn how to use open data to create a new product or service or develop it and take it to the next level. The course consists of nine lessons, starting with ‘ What is the value of data? ’. This lesson explores how open data creates value for governments, businesses and individuals. Following that, the lesson ‘ How useful is my data? ’ provides information and

Today is World Environment Day , dedicated to raise awareness on plastic pollution. The accumulation of plastic products in the environment causes significant problems for wildlife and their habitats as well as for human populations. Approximately 7 billion out of the 9.2 billion tonnes of plastic produced from 1950 to 1917 ended up as waste in nature. Therefore, systematic change in the way we produce, use and dispose plastic is crucial. Changing the way we reuse, recycle, reorient and diversify plastic is proposed by the UN environment programme in their report ‘ Turning off the Tap: How the

On Friday 12 May, the data.europa academy hosted the webinar ‘Data spaces: Introducing the concept and relevance in today’s world’. This was the first webinar in a series of webinars on Data Spaces, aligning with the European Data Strategy , where a common European data space is defined as a key element to facilitate data pooling and sharing. This first webinar introduced its concept, policy and legal framework. Data spaces are data ecosystems that operate based on shared policies and rules to overcome legal and technical barriers to data sharing and unleash the value of data. Building upon

The restructured data.europa academy offers its third course, ‘ Incorporating open data into your application ’, where you can learn how to use open data to create or enhance applications. Whether you are beginner or advanced, you can discover how to find hidden data on the web, how to use it and achieve open data interoperability across Europe. The course covers seven lessons, starting with an e-learning ‘ Finding hidden data on the web ’, which explains how to locate and obtain hidden data and assess its benefits and value. Following that, the ‘5 Stars of linked open data’ method used to

In the framework of the Data Governance Act (DGA), the European Commission shall establish a European Single Access Point (ESAP), which will be integrated into data.europa.eu. As a searchable electronic European register, the ESAP will collect, partially mirror, and render the data provided by national single information points (NSIPs). NSIPs will assist potential re-users in finding information on what protected data (e.g., personal, or commercially confidential data) can be reused under specific conditions. They are to be established by the EU Member States by 24 September 2023. For the

The second course of the restructured data.europa academy aims to enhance the understanding of how legislation and regulations can impact the publication and reuse of open data. The course ‘Understanding the legal side of open data’ introduces the different types of open data licenses and provides information and tools to select the appropriate one. Furthermore, it presents the current legal challenges related to the use and distribution of open data. The course consists of three lessons. The first lesson, Open data licensing , explains the concept of open data licensing and what it means in