Society needs the data to be able to actively participate in the economical and political processes in their country.  The Open Europe: Open Data for Open Society conference aims to exchange of knowledge and ideas leading to open society development.

Latvia will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2015. One of the priority areas of Latvia’s presidency will be the use of the EU’s digital potential and movement towards an information society. This conference is included into official agenda of Presidency. It is financed by the Latvian state.

The main topics include:

– Global initiatives in the European Commission, W3C, Open Geospatial Consortium
– Issues of the Public Sector Information directive
– EU Open Data projects: Benefits & Challenges
– Open Data for Business & Regional Growth: Technology & Tools
– e-Participiation: Issues of the European Citizens’ Initiative

The event is organised by the Latvian Open Technology Association (LATA) in collaboration with the Centre for Public Policy PROVIDUS and the public participation platform ManaBalss.lv.