This year, the Asociación Multisectorial de la Información (Asedie) is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Asedie is an association of companies that are dedicated to the use, re-use and distribution of data. The association aims to create goods and services that contribute to and boost the Spanish and European economy. Since 1999, Asedie has represented the needs of the Infomediary Sector and has spearheaded the collaboration between the public and private sector to meet common goals and overcome barriers in the world of open data. The Spanish Public Infomediary Sector is defined by datos.gob

Open food data The European Data Portal (EDP) offers over 79,000 datasets related to food. For example: ' Code Embale Open Fact Food (EMB)' from data.gouv.fr - a dataset that lists all the packaging codes for different food products in the French market, including spices, chicken, and dairy products. ' Food trucks' from data.gov.be - a dataset on the location of food trucks in the City of Brussels. ' Nutrition Statistics March 2018' from Open Data Greece - Ministry of Administrative Reconstruction - a dataset on the exports from the European Food Warehouse between January and March 2018. '

Open regions and cities data The European Data Portal (EDP) is an initiative by the European Commission that aims to increase the impact of open data by making data easy to find and re-use for everyone. The portal harvests metadata from EU Member States and enables users to discover the data they need by making its metadata searchable in all the EU supported languages. In addition to making the data searchable, the EDP also provides thirteen data catalogues to aid users in finding the data they need, one of which is regions and cities. These datasets include, for instance, land registries

Open education data Open education data can refer to open data produced by institutions focusing on education, such as schools and universities. Examples of these datasets are: Administrative data, including reference data such as the location of an academic institution and attendance information; Internal data, including staff names, available resources, budget, and personnel data; Curriculum data; Performance data, including the grades of students; and Jobs in academia. These datasets are often analysed and incorporated into aggregate school reports and state and national statistics. In

On 13 June 2019, the EU Datathon 2019 was held in Brussels, Belgium. The annual event aims to stimulate the use and re-use of open data and supports participants in showcasing their data skills and innovative ideas. This year was the third edition of the EU Datathon competition and it was hosted by the Publications Office of the European Union in partnership with the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Participants were invited to develop applications and interactive visualisations that offer new services or insights to citizens, public authorities, and businesses

Open Data Day 2019 This year the international open data community celebrated the Open Data Day again. Open Data Day is an international annual event where data enthusiasts gather to connect and build new solutions to complex social issues by using open data. The event aims to not only show the benefits of open data (such as an increase in efficiency, transparency, innovation and economic growth), but also to encourage the adoption of open data policies in various government bodies, businesses and civil societies. Open Data Day takes place globally and includes talks, seminars, hackathons

The festive Christmas season is upon us! With the end of 2018 quickly approaching, the Christmas spirit is spreading and activities for the holiday are underway across Europe. Many European cities come alive with lights and music during the Christmas season to celebrate the holidays. It is the season to spend time with family and friends, enjoy warm food and drinks, buy and exchange gifts and enjoy Christmas-themed stalls and live Christmas music at colourful Christmas markets. Christmas markets Originating in Germany, Christmas markets can be found throughout Europe. Christmas markets are

Open Data Maturity report 2018 On 19 November 2018, the European Data Portal published their fourth annual report " Open Data Maturity in Europe 2018: New horizons for Open Data driven transformation". The report measures the state-of-play of open data in Europe and shares the progress European countries made with their open data activities against previous years. In addition, the 2018 report highlights how open data can be used as a strategic asset to enable successful transformation across Europe. The report provides specific recommendations on how countries can push for progress in the open

Insights into a high value data domain Health is defined by the World Health Organisation as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being that goes beyond the absence of disease or infirmity. A person's health is dependent on variables such as their surrounding environment, sleeping pattern, diet, work-life balance and level of physical activity. By neglecting to take care of one's health through lack of sleep, an imbalanced diet or lack of physical activity, people are at risk for a weaker immune system meaning they are more vulnerable to getting ill and are more susceptible to

Open Data in Smart Cities On 8 November the European Data Portal (EDP) hosted the Webinar " Open Data in Smart Cities" to discuss initiatives across Europe. Open Data is crucial to realising Smart Cities. Open Data allows people to harness the data's full potential and create solution that address issues such as getting information on an event or finding a parking space. This is one of the reasons why the EDP is actively supporting EU Member States and communities to publish their data and promotes the re-use of data to increase impact. Data in Smart Cities, and the concept of a Smart City