EU Workshop on High Value Datasets

On the 22nd and 23rd May 2023, The Irish Open Data Team attended an interesting and informative EU Workshop for Data Providers held in the House of the EU in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The two day, in-person event, was hosted by data.europa.eu in conjunction with the European Parliament Offices in Slovenia and the Republic of Slovenia Ministry of Public Administration and Digital Transformation. Forty representatives from over twenty EU countries gathered at the event to discuss both the opportunities and challenges that Open Data presents for the countries in the EU.

The river Ljubljanica, Ljubljana, Slovenia

The workshop kicked off with a welcoming word from the Slovenian Minister for Digital Transformation Dr Emilija Stojmenova Duh who emphasised the important role Open Data will play in the future of the EU.

Throughout the workshop the representatives heard from a variety of speakers on a wide range of topics. There was an update on the data policy landscape in Europe including an insight into the Data Governance Act and Implementing Act on High-Value Datasets. In addition to this, Ukrainian representatives shared Ukraine's approach to the implementation of this European legislation and how the conflict that their country is experiencing at the moment has affected this process. Each topic opened up a fruitful back and forth discussion on the day where representatives had the chance to voice their opinions and learn from one another.

On the first day the representatives also took part in an interactive workshop on the progress of High-Value Datasets implementation, across Member States. Participants worked in groups and discussed, in more depth, the challenges for the interoperability and homogenization of the High-Value Datasets. They analysed and debated on the legal and technical dimensions of the Act as well as the availability and comparability of metadata descriptions, data structure and quality differences in their country’s data. All of the feedback was gathered by the data.europa.eu team and will be used in the upcoming data.europa.eu “Report on the homogenization of the High-Value Datasets across the Member States”.

The following day, the representatives returned to the House of the EU for some final discussions on Open Data. The EU representatives heard from both the Slovenian Ministry of Digital Transformation and the OECD on the topic of Data Stewardship. Both speakers shared on the importance of data stewardship programmes and how they are being implemented. Speakers from the Ministry of Digital Transformation alongside the University of Maribor in Slovenia also spoke on Artificial intelligence and the opportunities and risks that come with it for open data portals. They emphasised how artificial intelligence, adaptive AI technologies, and open data are critical for future developments in the field of open data. By understanding where the opportunities lie and which risks to anticipate, national open data portals can modernise their approach to data and technologies. The workshop was brought to a close with an animated discussion on data spaces and the role data.europa.eu will play in the creation of a single market for data that freely flows within the EU.

All the representatives left Slovenia more informed on all things Open Data, having networked and made stronger connections with their colleagues across the EU. It was a great opportunity for data providers to get together to discuss future opportunities and challenges as well as share best practices when it comes to Open Data in the EU and in their own respective countries.

Ljubljana City Hall, Ljubljana, Slovenia