Open Event Data Working Group

Events play an important role in the public life of a society. Timely provision of accurate information about upcoming events to potential target audiences is key to bringing people together for purposeful activities. Ensuring the visibility of events and availability of event data in the digital space has therefore become a major preoccupation of producers and organizers of events in the digital age. The market for the data platforms that are necessary to ensure this visibility is fragmented, and in Switzerland dominated by commercial players who (so far) have little incentive to cooperate between each other.

Our Mission

The Open Event Data Working Group aims at transforming the event data ecosystem and building an overarching common data infrastructure. Our mission has been expressed in the form of the Open Event Data Manifesto. It sets out the basic principles for our activities, highlighting the importance of making event data openly available to everyone. Together, we work towards the implementation of these principles.

International Network

We coordinate our activities with the international network of stakeholders in the performing arts committed to implementing open data strategies and to collaborating around shared data ecosystems. Some of the key focal points of these multilateral efforts are:

• the Wikidata project “Performing Arts”
• the Linked Digital Future Initiative of the Canadian Association for the Performing Arts (CAPACOA)
• the LODEPA Community, coordinating the establishment of a Linked Open Data Ecosystem for the Performing Arts at an international level
• the initiatives NFDI for Culture and Datenraum Kultur in the D-A-CH region
• the DARIAH-EU Theatralia Working Group in the field of the Digital Humanities

Get Involved

Our working group is part of the Opendata.ch association, providing a platform for collaboration and knowledge sharing. We furthermore engage in political lobbying, responding to consultations and advocating in favor of open data / open culture.

The Open Event Data Working Group is international in scope. We regularly hold online workshops. Participants from any country are welcome.

To join the Open Event Data Working Group, simply fill in the application form on our membership page – we would love to have you with us. Your participation matters, and we are eager to include everyone interested in shaping the future of event data accessibility. An overview of our current institutional members can be found on our network page.

To simply receive regular updates about our activities, sign up for our newsletter.