The Open Knowledge Foundation (OKFN) Spain has chosen the Junta de Castilla y León’s Open Data Competition as the ´Best public Open Data competition with citizen involvement´, picking it out from a total of 40 candidatures from 9 different countries.

The “OKNF Awards” distinguish the best initiatives promoting the practical utility of data and open knowledge for industry, the economy and the public at large.

With GMV’s collaboration the Regional Government of Castilla y León set up its Open Data Portal in March 2012. Since then it has enabled over 160 data sets, and nearly 40,000 users have now accessed this public information disposed in reusable formats. This initiative of making public data available to citizens is part of an overarching philosophy of transparency, participation and collaboration, enabling society to create its own added value.

To encourage the proper use and awareness of this open data and to power the generation of added-value applications and services, the Junta set up the Open-Data Competition, which awards prizes to projects that provide any type of web application or service by tapping into the Junta de Castilla y León’s open-data portal.

The first two open data competitions have spawned more than 50 mobile apps and website projects on various issues of public interest: employment, education, tourism, hunting and fishing, energy and statistics.

GMV is playing a key role in this whole project as part of its ongoing pledge to the opening-up, reuse and harnessing of data and in recognition of the importance of transparency and support for budding talent. Not only is it sponsoring the competition but it is also helping to run it and bring it to wider notice while also inputting its own prize-giving expertise as a jury member.