17.03.2022

Euro­pean Commis­sion goes Open Source: New Project Kohesio uses Wikimedia’s Soft­ware Wiki­base

EU Cohe­sion Policy contri­butes to streng­thening economic, social and terri­to­rial cohe­sion in the Euro­pean Union. It aims to correct imba­lances between count­ries and regions. It deli­vers on the Union’s poli­tical prio­ri­ties, espe­ci­ally the green and digital tran­si­tions.

“We are very proud to have supported such an important project with our open source soft­ware Wiki­base. With Kohesio, ever­yone can now access the infor­ma­tion about EU funding in their region, be it the parks in their neigh­bor­hood, cultural insti­tu­tions or infra­struc­ture projects. This aligns with Wikimedia’s mission to make infor­ma­tion acces­sible for ever­yone,” says Fran­ziska Heine, Deputy Execu­tive Director and Head of Soft­ware Deve­lo­p­ment at Wiki­media Deutsch­land.

Kohesio.eu: An open plat­form for all EU funded projects

“Every year, EU Cohe­sion Policy supports tens of thou­sands of regional deve­lo­p­ment projects across Europe through funding programmes. Kohesio will allow ever­yone to easily access infor­ma­tion about these projects ever­y­where in the EU. This leads to more trans­pa­rency and trust in EU insti­tu­tions,” says Elisa Ferreira, Commis­sioner for Cohe­sion and Reforms of the Euro­pean Commis­sion.

The project Kohesio is deve­loped by the Euro­pean Commission’s Direc­to­rate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO) and DG for Commu­ni­ca­tions Networks, Content and Tech­no­logy (DG CNECT). In coope­ra­tion with the national autho­ri­ties, Kohesio aggre­gates and stan­dar­dizes infor­ma­tion for more than 1.5 million projects and related bene­fi­ci­a­ries from over 300 opera­tional programs.

The project Kohesio is deve­loped by the Euro­pean Commission’s Direc­to­rate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO) and DG for Commu­ni­ca­tions Networks, Content and Tech­no­logy (DG CNECT). In coope­ra­tion with the national autho­ri­ties, Kohesio aggre­gates and stan­dar­dizes infor­ma­tion for more than 1.5 million projects and related bene­fi­ci­a­ries from over 300 opera­tional programs.

Kohesio offers user-friendly navi­ga­tion and effi­cient sear­ches throug­hout all projects funded in the context of Cohe­sion Policy. Curr­ently, Kohesio covers projects financed by the Euro­pean Regional Deve­lo­p­ment Fund (ERDF), the Cohe­sion Fund (CF) and the Euro­pean Social Fund (ESF) from all twenty-seven EU Member States.

Wiki­base as enabler for Open Data

Wiki­base, the soft­ware behind Kohesio.eu, is produced and main­tained by Wiki­media Deutsch­land and an inter­na­tional commu­nity of volun­teers. It is used by an incre­asing number of cultural heri­tage and science insti­tu­tions around the world. Other insti­tu­tions that use Wiki­base include the German National Library, the Library of Congress and the Biblio­t­hèque Natio­nale de France. With the project Kohesio.eu, Wiki­media Deutsch­land embarks on a stra­tegy for increased colla­bo­ra­tion with govern­mental insti­tu­tions.

Wiki­base, the soft­ware behind Kohesio.eu, is produced and main­tained by Wiki­media Deutsch­land and an inter­na­tional commu­nity of volun­teers. It is used by an incre­asing number of cultural heri­tage and science insti­tu­tions around the world. Other insti­tu­tions that use Wiki­base include the German National Library, the Library of Congress and the Biblio­t­hèque Natio­nale de France. With the project Kohesio.eu, Wiki­media Deutsch­land embarks on a stra­tegy for increased colla­bo­ra­tion with govern­mental insti­tu­tions.

About Wiki­media Deutsch­land:

Wiki­media Deutsch­land is a non-profit asso­cia­tion with over 90,000 members that promotes free know­ledge. Since its foun­ding in 2004, the asso­cia­tion has supported various Wiki­media projects – first and fore­most Wiki­pedia. The asso­cia­tion advo­cates free access to Free Know­ledge and is thus committed to a funda­mental human right to educa­tion. Wiki­pedia, like other sister projects, is inde­pen­dent and free of adver­ti­sing and only possible through volun­teer work and dona­tions.

Contact: 

Contact: 

Elisa­beth Giese­mann

elisabeth.giesemann@wikimedia.de