TransparencyCamp Europe is to take place for the first time as part of a series of events to promote transparency and Open Government in the EU.
The event, scheduled on June 1st 2016 in Amsterdam, is organised by the Dutch Open State Foundation and the Dutch Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The Netherlands holds the presidency in the first half of 2016.
TransparencyCamp, originally created by the Sunlight Foundation in the US in 2009, defines itself as an "unconference" (no agenda is scheduled in advance). It is mainly focused on "open data, new technologies and policies that make the EU work for people, stimulate open government and help people grasp the workings of the various EU institutions", the event’s website said.
Participants will be journalists, developers, diplomats, students, government officials and activists from all over Europe, Open State Foundation explained. The objectives are to share ideas, best practices and measures "on how to use technology to make governments more transparent and inclusive."
Hackathons and an online apps competition to promote data re-use
Other events to be held during the Dutch presidency include hackathons in several European capitals and an online app competition promoting the re-use of open data published by European institutions. The TransparencyCamp Europe will host this competition. Hackathons will help in developing apps whose goal is to make the decision-making process in Europe more accessible to European citizens.
"These events and the applications they produce can serve as a catalyst for engaging citizens with the EU. Citizens will continue to demand more transparency and the EU will need to respond to that demand", Arjan El Fassed, director of the Open State Foundation said in a prepared statement.