Last month, I – Greet, Enterprise Architect at Sirus – had the opportunity to represent Sirus at the FIWARE Global Summit along with some of my colleagues.
What is the FIWARE Global Summit?
FIWARE is a non-profit organization supported by Europe to promote open standards, open-source components, and technologies. Its focus is on data and innovation across various sectors. FIWARE has a strong community consisting of over 500 large and small companies, governments, research institutions, and other organizations. The FIWARE Global Summit annually brings together this community for knowledge exchange and networking.
In-depth presentations
Notably this year was the significant Belgian representation at the Summit. Brecht Van de Vyvere and Gert De Tant from Sirus both gave a presentation at the summit. Brecht, along with Dwight Van Lancker from Digitaal Vlaanderen, elaborated on “the marriage between LDES (Linked Data Event Streams) and NGSI-LD”. Gert showcased our “Urban Sense Platform” through several implemented use cases in Belgium, as part of the introduction of the latest Smart4Cities book, which features Sirus multiple times.
Additionally, ODALA, a European project in which Sirus is involved, focusing on improving data management and sharing between cities and regions, was also featured. Several other Flemish and Belgian organizations were given a platform as well. Athumi had the privilege of starting off the keynotes, addressing a large audience, with their data vaults based on Solid. Digitaal Vlaanderen provided an overview of the Flemish Smart Data Space.
Data spaces: a hot topic
This brings me to the second notable observation from the Summit: data spaces are a highly discussed topic. They are not only prominent in Flanders (and at Sirus), but we clearly do play a significant role in their development. So, what is a data space? In essence, a data space enables the sharing of data among different organizations while maintaining control over your own data. Through clear agreements on legal, business, and technological aspects, a data space provides a framework that allows cities and organizations to securely and efficiently share, combine, and utilize data.
One of the enjoyable aspects of the FIWARE Global Summit is its broad scope. It offers in-depth presentations on technical components built by or in collaboration with FIWARE, as well as more general presentations on specific projects, use cases, or solution concepts.
In summary, my visit to the FIWARE Global Summit was an inspiring experience. I witnessed interesting presentations on the latest developments within the FIWARE ecosystem, gained knowledge about data spaces, and got to know some important partners better. As Sirus, we had the opportunity to share our experiences with a broader audience, focusing on LDES, NGSI-LD, and Urban Sense, and we were highlighted through the publication of the Smart4Cities book.
