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.

Over the last 18 months the European Commission has funded a pioneering study on Digital Social Innovation (DSI) in the context of the Digital Agenda lead by Nesta, the Waag Society, Esade and L’Institut de recherche et d’innovation. This event, titled Shaping the Future of Digital Social Innovation in Europe will present the results and key findings of the project, including recommendations from the research on, defining and understanding DSI, crowdmapping networks of DSI organisations in Europe and developing policy, funding and regulatory measures that can support the further growth of DSI. 

The day will also include detail on the next round of research and funding instruments for DSI and collective awareness platforms in Europe.

The event, held on the 17th of February in Brussels, we will gather leading European practitioners, funders, academics and policy makers from EU, national, regional and local governments working on Digital Social Innovation to discuss lessons from the research and the future of DSI in Europe.

>> See more from the event page

>> Link to registration

Agenda:

08:30 Welcome of participants

09:00 -09:30 Opening session: What have we learned about digital social innovation, what does the future look like?
• Geoff Mulgan CEO, Nesta
• Fabrizio Sestini, Scientific Officer, European Commission’s DG Connect

09:30-09:50 Presentation of the DSI study final results – Francesca Bria, Nesta

09:50-11.00 The digital social innovators perspective

Chair: Robert Madelin, Director General of European Commission’s DG Connect
• Renata Avila, World Wide Web Foundation
• Zoe Romano, Arduino
• Tom Steinberg, mySociety and Populus project
• Tomas Diez, Smart Citizens Kit, FabLab Barcelona
• Rob van Kranenburg, Internet of Things Council & Sociotal

Q&A

11:00- 11:30 Break

11:30 – 12:30 The policy perspective – Digital & Social for the future of Europe
Chair: Jesus Villasante, Head of Unit, European Commission’s DG Connect
• Patrizia Toia, European Parliament TBC
• Julia Reda, European Parliament
• Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris TBC
• Marijete Schaake, European Parliament

12:30-13:30 What kind of institutional change is needed for Europe?
Chair: Geoff Mulgan, Nesta
• Ann Mettler, Head of the European Political Strategy Centre TBC
• Evgeny Morozov, writer and editorialist
• Chris Sigaloff, Director of Kennisland
• Xavier Troussard, JRC European Commission
• Marleen Stikker, Waag Society

13:30 Closing address Mario Campolargo, European Commission’s DG Connect

The event will be held in Charlemagne Building, 170 Rue de la Loi, Brussels.

FSCONS, Free Society Conference and Nordic Summit, provides a meeting place where subjects covering society, culture and technology can be discussed and brought to life in peer discussions, without being confined to each particular subject area. The unique combination of topics creates a platform where cross-pollination between the areas can occur, and where new co-operations and thoughts can emerge which allows the participants to find new inspiration even from areas outside of their own.

The event has been organised since 2007. In 2014, the keynotes will be Karl Fogel and Leigh Honeywell.

More information at: https://fscons.org/2014