In the centre of Brussels, on June 26 and 27 2024, SEMIC sprang to life! The event drew over 480 enthusiastic participants on-site and captivated a global audience of around 600 online viewers, making SEMIC 2024 an outstanding success. SEMIC2024 brought together policymakers from intercontinental, EU and national levels, alongside industry experts, international organisations, academia, start-ups, consumer protection organisations, and NGOs from around the globe. Hosted by the European Commission, in partnership with the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union and Digital Flanders, this year's SEMIC conference carried the title “Interoperable Europe: From Vision to Reality”.

The highlights

On 26 June 2024, six pre-conference workshops were organised, building on their successful trial run during the SEMIC 2023 Conference. These workshops convened specialists and highly interested participants for more in-depth discussions on specific topics. Six workshops addressed the following subjects:

• ‘Linked Data Event Streams (LDES): from Pilots to Standards’ explored the various existing use cases of LDES and how this technology could transform traditional data-sharing methods. Discussions on the approach, user adoption and technical features were particularly engaging.
• 'AI in support of Interoperability' explored how artificial intelligence can enhance interoperability through automated summarisation, standardisation, translation, data modelling and more. Participants also learned about the impact of Knowledge Graphs, MLDCAT-AP, and other semantic interoperability tools on AI quality.
• The Early Career Researchers workshop offered the opportunity for PhD candidates and early post-docs to showcase their research, while receiving valuable feedback from peers and leading experts. The range of topics included cross-border interoperability, digital governance, data-driven policymaking, and emerging technologies in the public sector. 
• The Semantic Interoperability solutions for Data Spaces workshop focused on how to achieve interoperability in and between data spaces with presentations of challenges, approaches and solutions implemented by the European Commission (High Value Datasets, INSPIRE directive and Simpl) and various domain specific data spaces (Health, Language, Public Procurement and Smart Cities) and reflections on agile standardisation processes in the fast evolving landscape.
• The Cross-border interoperability workshop highlighted the efforts to increase interoperability and openness through the creation of standards, ontologies and knowledge graphs while also addressing the limitations of reuse and adoption. The need for a unified process and collaborative method for creating and reusing semantic assets was emphasised.  
• The Digital-ready Policymaking and semantics workshop focused on the importance of digital-readiness in policymaking and the use of semantics to enhance the machine readability of legal texts. The workshop discussed various approaches to fulfil the vision of digital-ready policymaking, including principles and methods applied in Germany and Denmark. The audience expressed the need for visualising policies and creating a common language and academics showcased experiments on how standards in the field of legal semantics could support it. 

On 27 June 2026, the 2024 SEMIC Conference was opened by Veronica Gaffey. The Director-General at the Directorate-General for Digital Services (DIGIT) welcomed all participants while addressing the importance of the Interoperable Europe Act and its implications. She also elaborated on the connections with AI, building further on the insights from SEMIC2023. Veronica Gaffey stated that: ’the joint enthusiasm of interoperability is bringing many enthusiasts together in Brussels committed to improve semantic interoperability while fostering collaboration for a more interoperable, competitive Europe’.

In between the keynote of Jambon and the first panel discussion of the day, Johannes Hahn, European Commissioner for Budget and Administration delivered a video message. In his message, Hahn called for enhanced collaboration at all levels, both within and beyond EU borders, emphasising that cross-border interoperability has become a legal obligation following the adoption of the Interoperable Europe Act. 

Afterwards, the first panel discussion of the Conference focused on the vision for cross-border interoperability of digital public services, emphasising the implementation of the IEA and the essential pillars required to realise this vision. Moderated by Natalia Aristimuño Perez, Director of Digital Enablers & Innovation at DG DIGIT, an outlook of the implementation of the IEA was presented. Emilija Stojmenova Duh, Slovenian Minister of Digital Transformation, highlighted Slovenia's early engagement in the Once-Only Technical System (OOTS) and stressed the importance of digital education, a common trusted infrastructure, and encouraging private sector adoption. Markus Richter, German State Secretary and Federal Government Commissioner for Information Technology, emphasised the need for a collaborative approach with a common agenda and infrastructure to connect platforms, advocating for personalised, proactive digital services. Following on this suggestion, Jan Smedts, as Head of Digital Flanders, focused on the security aspects and the success of Flanders' OSLO program, calling for a key digital strategy and inclusiveness in digital services. Veronica Gaffey discussed the establishment of the Interoperable Europe board and assessment guidelines, stressing the importance of digital-ready policy making. 

Following this panel discussion, Markus Richter got the opportunity to deep dive a bit more into his personally identified priorities to maximise collaboration within the EU. He identified five key aspects:

1. Collaboration in software development: Emphasise joint efforts in software development to pool expertise and resources.
2. Unified Cloud strategy: Develop a common cloud strategy to address Europe's infrastructure needs and streamline efforts.
3. Data sharing consensus: Establish a clear, cohesive approach to cross-border data sharing and utilisation to maximise its value.
4. Innovation ecosystems: Foster European innovation ecosystems, comparable to Silicon Valley, leveraging public sector support.
5. Skill development: Address the shortage of skilled personnel, particularly in AI implementation within the public sector, through cross-border cooperation and training.

After the main sessions, the conference participants had the opportunity to attend three parallel sessions, which focused on the following topics:

• Next generation digital government: Towards digital-ready policy making: The panel discussed how digital-ready policymaking is becoming a key enabler for interoperability across different Member States and the steps being taken to implement the Interoperable Europe Act. Speakers  emphasised the need to involve both citizens and implementation teams in policymaking to ensure that future digital public services meet their needs. Additionally it was presented the EC’s work on setting up processes to proactively screen legislation that imposes requirements of digital relevance, thereby anticipating the need for a mandatory Interoperability Assessment, as per Article 3 of the IEA. Finally, there was a discussion on what is meant by digital government and how it is related to policy making. The panel also emphasised the necessity of involving policymakers upfront to create digital-ready policies by design and identifying interoperability barriers in the early stages of the process, highlighting the key role of the IEA. 
• From Cloud to Edge: Implementing AI, Privacy, and the Data Act; in which participants explored key disruptions in edge computing. Presentations from MyData, IMEC, and OpenChip highlighted the importance of data sovereignty, advocating for shifts towards data empowerment and open ecosystems, artificial intelligence and sustainability, stressing the need for data security, sovereignty and low-power AI solutions. The session concluded on the importance of integrating technological innovation with robust privacy and data governance frameworks for a sustainable edge computing future.
• Next generation digital government: Interoperability solutions for automated, proactive public services focused on the challenges that citizens continue to face, such as user-friendliness and cross-border capabilities, despite the fact that the majority of public services have been available online for several years. The necessity for user-centric design and proactive services was stressed, with an emphasis on tailoring services to individual needs. Proposals included creating a government super app for mobile services and fostering a vibrant EU GovTech ecosystem with dedicated funds, while concerns about AI trustworthiness and the need for EU standards were raised. It was also suggested that the EC take active roles in political, policy, and operational areas to drive implementation. 

After some networking time during lunch break where participants could explore the Exhibition area, the conference continued in the afternoon with three additional parallel tracks focused on:

• Sharing and Reuse: boosting European Interoperability: During this parallel session, the speakers provided an overview of the IEA and its obligations. The discussion highlighted the benefits of proactive services, technology reuse, and user-centric approaches. Challenges in scaling pilot projects to production were noted, with a focus on centralised procurement and shared facilities and platforms. The session concluded with a vision for shared solutions by 2030, addressing legacy issues, semantic and data governance, and ensuring alignment with IEA requirements. Achieving full interoperability will require continuous collaboration and effort across governments.
• Solutions for interoperability in and between data spaces: After introducing the European data strategy, the session highlighted challenges and solutions for enhancing interoperability in data spaces. Key discussions included the importance of security and trust, with examples from the European mobility data space (EMDS). Presentations emphasised the need for standardised building blocks and debated agile versus consensus-based standardisation. The session concluded with insights into the future Simpl platform's role in boosting data space interoperability.
• Innovation in public services: The session aimed to explore GovTech innovation and strategies for scaling up GovTech projects. A short introduction on the Public Sector Tech Watch initiative was given and previewed an upcoming report due in fall 2024. Participants discussed challenges in both private and public sectors, emphasising the need for early consideration of project industrialisation, including the value for citizens, stakeholders responsible for scaling up and maintaining the system. They highlighted the importance of clear concepts, setting priorities, and mapping resources early on to ensure "implementability by design". The discussion also noted that technology isn't always the solution, and organisations should collaborate and involve users throughout the process from design to delivery.

Following the panel, the conference featured an insightful discussion on Italy's two-year journey to digitise its government services, led by Diego Piacentini, former extraordinary commissioner for the digital transformation of the Italian government. The session highlighted the importance of a clear vision for digital government, centred on making citizens' lives easier. Key success factors included focusing on tangible initiatives like a tax-related payments app. High adoption by local municipalities was achieved by hiring the right talents, collaborating with existing systems, and ensuring technological flexibility. For administrations that were initially reluctant, the advice was to focus on delivering a quality product to eventually win them over.

Finally, Maximilian Strotmann closed the Conference by emphasising that all the necessary tools (such as GovTech ecosystems, the Interoperable Europe Board and the EDIC in the making) are available to transform the IEA vision to reality. In the next months and years, it will be key to use these tools in a well-managed manner to succeed. Strotmann's final words, in line with many discussions throughout the two-day conference, emphasised that interoperability within Europe will reach its full potential when maximally collaborating cross-border, emphasising on the importance of events like SEMIC2024 to further strengthen collaboration.

The recordings

You could not make it to the conference? We have got you covered! The recordings from the sessions are available on the official Youtube channel of Interoperable Europe.

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See you next year at #SEMIC2025!