The European Commission is committed to the development of a healthy data ecosystem. Among its initiatives are two projects available to individuals: the “European Data Portal” (EDP) and the “Support Centre for Data Sharing” (SCDS). Since 2015, the first one has empowered individuals and businesses by supporting governments in releasing their data. The second, more recently, researches and documents best practices for more controlled though effective, technically sound and legal data sharing between organisations, enabling innovation that ensures people’s rights and privacy.

For people to make the best use of those resources it is important that the two services are known. The talk will introduce the importance of data as an element of empowerment; describe what open data is, and how the EDP supports people in finding and re-using it; describe what “data sharing” is, and how the SCDS helps develop data-driven services that are at the same time innovative and respectful of EU culture and law.