The EU’s Open Data Days Conference 2025 took place on 19-20 March 2025. Open Data Lead, Jack Kavanagh represented Smart Dublin at the event held at the European Convention Centre Luxembourg (ECCL).
Organised by the Publications Office of the European Union, the event brought together policymakers, innovators, and data enthusiasts to explore the transformative power of open data in fostering transparency, driving research, and informing policymaking across Europe. Additionally, there was a huge focus on the role AI can play in the future of open data.
Event Speaker Key Takeaways :
- Hilde Hardeman, Director-General of the Publications Office of the European Union, delivered the opening address, discussing the pivotal role of open data in modern governance and the EU’s strategy to harness its potential.
- Luc Frieden, Prime Minister of Luxembourg, delivered the opening speech on the first day, emphasising Luxembourg’s commitment to promoting open data as a catalyst for innovation and societal progress.
- Maroš Šefčovič, European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security; Inter-institutional Relations and Transparency highlighted the EU’s dedication to enhancing data interoperability and establishing robust data governance frameworks. He noted that the war in Ukraine presents new challenges for Open Data but the EU remains committed to promoting Open Data across the Union.
- Kjersti Steien, Senior advisor / product owner, the Norwegian Digitalisation Agency spoke about Norway’s national data portal, data.norge.no, which employs an AI-driven search engine to enhance data discoverability.
- Nadieh Bremer, data visualisation expert showcased her incredible work illustrating the lineage of European Royal Families. Link available here.
- Barbara Šlibar from the University of Zagreb discussed metadata quality in Europe. She highlighted the EU’s Open Data Maturity Assessment which evaluates European countries on their open data initiatives, focusing on four key dimensions: policy, impact, portal, and quality. Each dimension assesses specific aspects of a country’s open data practices, contributing to an overall maturity score.
This EU Open Data day provided an excellent opportunity for networking and discovery. Data innovation requires learning the best practices and techniques to put open data projects into action across the sectors. Engaging with our peers and other experts in this field from Ireland and across Europe supports building a community of practice for knowledge exchange.
For a comprehensive overview of the event, including detailed session information and speaker backgrounds, please refer to the official program.