Novice

On 6 May, the EU Datathon 2021 hosted their first webinar on the Natura 2000 dataset. The dataset was presented by Brian Mac Sharry from the European Environment Agency and can be used for Challenge 1: “A European Green Deal”. The EU Datathon is an annual open data competition open to data enthusiasts worldwide. To enter the competition, participants are invited to send ideas for applications that use open datasets and address one of three thematic challenges, aligned with the priorities of the European Commission. Selected teams will have 19 weeks to turn their ideas into functional apps and

Agriculture is one of the main sectors of economic activity in the Northern Basque Country of France. The Basque Country Agglomeration Community wants to preserve the agricultural quality of the region by preventing deterioration caused by erosion and demographic factors, such as ageing of farm managers. As a result, the Northern Basque municipal community launched the open data portal ZABAL in 2021, which provides open agricultural data from France and can be used to increase the transparency of public action, to encourage innovation, and to contribute to the digital economic development of

From 10 to 12 May, the Data4Good festival invites charities, social enterprises, public sector bodies, funders, and support organisations to share their data stories. The flagship event presents social sector organisations that use data to deliver greater impact, and showcases how these organisations use data to design more effective and efficient products and services. At the event, charities including Citizens Advice, London’s Air Ambulance Charity, Sustrans, Teach First, Cause4, and the British Red Cross will share their data journeys. There will also be several ‘how to’ sessions to gain

The Publications Office of the European Union invites experts to contribute to the EU Open Data Days, taking place from 23 to 25 November 2021. The EU Open Data Days is a collection of events centred around European data and offers a unique opportunity for the open data community to meet, share experience with experts in the field, and discover successful data-driven projects. There are two opportunities where you can participate: 1. As a speaker at EU DataViz This conference on open data and visualisation invites experts from all sectors worldwide to participate, including academia, private

On 21 April, the European Commission put forward new rules and actions designed to support Europe in becoming a global centre for trustworthy Artificial Intelligence (AI). By combining the first-ever legal framework on AI with a Coordinated Plan with Member States, Europe aims to safeguard the safety and rights of citizens, businesses, and organisations, and increase the uptake of AI and inspire investment and innovation across the European Union. The AI legislative framework sets a global standard of proportionate and flexible rules that take the risks that AI technologies pose into account

The European Union Open Data Portal and the European Data Portal are joining forces to become the single access point to open data from Europe and beyond. Data will play a key role in our lives. Sometimes called ‘the new infrastructure’, they form a basis for research and innovation and for the development of new products, services, and powerful technologies. Innovations arising from open data will improve our lives and boost economic growth. Open data is a powerful resource that is freely available for reuse to all citizens. The European Commission encourages cross-border use of reusable data

Soon the European Data Portal will merge with the European Open Data Portal to continue under a new name: data.europa.eu. Under this name, the project will continue on its mission to support European countries in publishing open data, increasing their open data maturity, and promoting awareness of open data’s potential for re-use. The goal of the data.europa.eu project is to improve accessibility and increase the value of public sector information along the whole data value chain. Therefore, the team will continue to operate, maintain, and further develop the data.europa.eu portal, support EU

The organisation that manages the Italian Open Data Portal, the Agency for Digital Italy (AgID), recently released an update to the portal that greatly improves user experience and encourages the sharing of data between public administrations. The update enables users to search based on keywords, making the search service much more effective. Several additional edits have been made to improve the design of the portal and to make open data more easily accessible. In addition, the new version of the portal also incorporates the catalogue of public administration databases. This now makes the

In the summer of 2021, the Open Maps for Europe project is expected to provide free access to use maps from over 40 countries across Europe. The project is a collaboration of EuroGeographics and the National Geographic Institute (NGI) Belgium, supported by the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) programme of the European Union. A new online interface, created by thinkWhere will make it possible for users to access map, geospatial, and land information. Apart from topographic data, the gateway will also provide a digital elevation model, imagery, a cadastral index map, and a regional gazetteer

Open Cycle Map is a website with updated cycle paths across Europe. Cyclists can use the online Open Cycle Map to zoom in and out of specific locations and select cycling paths. The paths are numbered and have different colours according to whether the cycle path is a national, regional, or local cycle route. Thereby, the map also shows icons for relevant services such as bicycle shops, rental stations, toilets, cafes, drinking water fountains, shelters, hospitals, and post boxes. The open data sources that have been used to develop the Open Cycle Map, such as height data from NASA, have been