Georges Lobo: SEMIC 2025 marks a pivotal shift from policy development to practical implementation

Georges Lobo, a Programme Manager in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Digital Services, brings years of experience at the intersection of digital innovation and public sector modernisation. As a driving force behind the SEMIC initiative, Georges has been instrumental in advancing semantic interoperability across Europe. His work focuses on fostering practical implementation of interoperability solutions that enable seamless data exchange between public administrations, helping to build a more connected and efficient digital government. 

In this interview, Georges shares insights into this year’s SEMIC Conference, taking place on 25-26 November in Copenhagen and online. He highlights the importance of interoperability and explores how this year’s theme, “Interoperability for Impact”, reflects the EU’s broader vision for digital priorities, and the growing need for digital sovereignty.  

Be sure to save the date and keep an eye out for registration once it opens via the Interoperable Europe Portal.  

Q: What is the theme of SEMIC 2025 and why was it chosen? 

A: The theme of SEMIC 2025 is "Interoperability for Impact". It marks a pivotal shift from policy development to practical implementation, following the adoption of the Interoperable Europe Act. Interoperability is now central to Europe’s digital priorities, from data spaces and cross-border services to the green and digital transitions. It’s about enabling collaboration, reducing administrative burdens, and delivering seamless, trusted public services. 

This year’s theme also reflects the growing need for digital sovereignty, with interoperability acting as a cornerstone for strategic autonomy and resilient digital infrastructure. Above all, it underlines the importance of delivering measurable outcomes, showing how smart and semantic interoperability can reduce duplication, simplify processes, and improve policy delivery across borders and sectors. 

Attendees can also expect discussions on how interoperability enables proactive public services that anticipate needs, automate interactions, and rebuild trust in public institutions through seamless service delivery. 

Q: Who should attend SEMIC 2025? 

A: SEMIC 2025 brings together a diverse community of public and private sector professionals such as: 

• Civil servants at EU, national, regional, and local levels 

• IT architects, data managers, policymakers, and legal experts 

• Industry representatives, startups, researchers, and academics 

A special focus this year is placed on young professionals and students, to foster next-generation talent in public sector innovation and digital infrastructure. Anyone committed to improving digital public services will benefit from attending!  

Q. Will there be SEMIC Workshops this year? 

A: Yes, the day before the main Conference, SEMIC Workshops will take place, offering a deep dive into semantic interoperability. These interactive sessions target practitioners and experts keen to share recent achievements, explore current challenges and discuss future directions. 

Workshops are more technical and interactive than the Conference, offering hands-on engagement with peers from across the SEMIC community. Some of the topics that will be discussed this year include Data Spaces, the interplay between AI and semantics, and the importance of semantics in digital-ready policymaking. 

Q. For those who are hearing about SEMIC for the first time, what is it exactly and what are some of its achievements? 

A: SEMIC is a long-standing initiative of the European Commission that focuses on developing semantic specifications to promote interoperability across the EU. 

Some of SEMIC’s key achievements include: 

• DCAT-AP: Now a global standard for describing datasets in public portals 

• Core Vocabularies: Reusable data models for people, businesses, services, and more 

• MLDCAT-AP: A new metadata standard to describe machine learning models 

• Pilots and implementations: Testing specifications in real-world settings 

An essential part of SEMIC’s mission is supporting stakeholders, such as EU policy departments and public administrations, in implementing digital-ready, interoperable policies and solutions to foster cross-border and cross-domain interoperability. We also provide guidance to public administrations that wish to adopt and implement our specifications, thereby contributing directly to the goals of the EU’s data strategy and digital transformation.  

Q. What role will AI, data spaces, and digital-ready policymaking play at SEMIC? 

A: These three themes, artificial intelligence, data spaces, and digital-ready policymaking, are at the heart of our work and will feature prominently on the SEMIC 2025 agenda as together, these themes form the backbone of Europe’s digital transformation and will be explored from strategic and operational angles throughout the Conference. 

Q. What success stories will be showcased? 

A: Whilst the agenda is still being finalised, SEMIC 2025 will feature impactful success stories from across Europe such as: 

• Portugal: Showcasing national interoperability in services like birth registration and company creation 

• Italy: Demonstrating a federated, semantic approach to regional and national data catalogues 

• CEF Building Blocks and Core Vocabularies Tool: Reusable, open-source components for public service innovation 

• Interoperability Test Bed: Enabling administrations to test and deploy interoperable solutions 

These examples underline how interoperability delivers real impact, improving services, cutting administrative red tape, and driving public value. 

Q. Why is semantic interoperability so important? What is its role in the digitalisation of the public sector in the EU? 

A: Semantic interoperability is essential because it ensures that data exchanged between systems is interpreted consistently by all parties. It’s not just about moving data; it’s about ensuring shared understanding of the data’s meaning. Unlike technical interoperability, which focuses on connecting systems (e.g. APIs, infrastructure), semantic interoperability is about agreeing on the underlying concepts and formats. It allows systems to “understand” each other, even if they use different terms. 

For example, a French pastry known as pain au chocolat in France may be called chocolatine in other parts of France or even couque au chocolat in Belgium. Humans know they’re the same, but computers don’t, unless we define that explicitly. In a multilingual and multicultural environment like the EU, semantic interoperability is key to ensuring data about people, businesses, or public services is accurately interpreted across borders. It doesn’t require changing internal systems, it just requires shared meaning. That’s why it’s a cornerstone of digital government in Europe. It also requires collaboration between IT experts, domain specialists, and policymakers to make it effective. 

Q. Will there be any exciting announcements or new developments at SEMIC 2025? 

A: Yes, we will present the Public Sector Tech Watch Best Cases Award at SEMIC 2025! This award recognises outstanding uses of emerging technologies in the public sector. It’s part of our broader effort to highlight innovation through the Public Sector Tech Watch observatory. Find out more about the Public Sector Tech Watch Best Cases Awards. 

Q. How can people sign up for SEMIC 2025? Is registration limited? 

A: Participation is free of charge. However, on-site attendance is limited, so we recommend registering early to secure a spot! It is also possible to follow along online as all SEMIC sessions, including main plenaries, parallel tracks, and workshops, will be available via the web-stream on the Interoperable Europe Portal. Recordings will also be made available on our YouTube channel in case any sessions are missed. 

Q. And finally, for those interested in joining as first-time attendees’ what advice or message would you like to share? 

A: To all first-time attendees, I’d say make the most of being there in person. While online participation has greatly expanded access to the Conference, nothing replaces the value of face-to-face exchanges. Many of the most impactful ideas and collaborations I’ve seen over the years were sparked not in formal sessions, but during spontaneous conversations in the corridors or over coffee. SEMIC is a space for exchanging knowledge and building partnerships, whether you're new to the topic or a returning expert. Personally, my goal is always to leave the event having learned something new, and I hope it will be the same for all attendees!  

 

Registration is opening soon! Keep an eye out on the Interoperable Europe Portal and our social media channels X and LinkedIn to be amongst the first to register!