OpenWebSearch.EU - Piloting a Cooperative Open Web Search Infrastructure to Support Europe's Digital Sovereignty

Web search has become an essential technology and commodity, driving not only future innovations but forming a backbone for our digital economy. Regrettably, currently few non-European gatekeepers control Web search, which creates a biased, one-sided information access centred around economic success rather than the needs of citizens or European values and jurisdiction. This onesided ecosystem puts pressure on many small Web contributors from science, economy, art, culture, media and society requiring them to optimize their content for a few gatekeepers. A system greatly benefiting the gatekeepers thereby creates a vicious cycle, which leads to locked-in effects and a closed search engine market.

To promote an open human-centred search engine market and provide a true choice to users when selecting search engines based on their own preferences, OpenWebSearch.EU proposes to develop and pilot the core of a European Open Web Index (OWI) and the foundation for an open and extensible European open Web Search and Analysis Infrastructure (OWSAI). Our approach is based on four objectives, namely

(1) to develop a core suite of search, discovery and analytics services to create, maintain and utilize the OWI;

(2) to develop relevant search engine verticals and new search paradigms demonstrating the impact;

(3) to establish a network of European HPC-infrastructure, research and business organizations to pilot the OWSAI based on Europe’s values, principles, legislation, ethics and standards;

(4) to stimulate an ecosystem around the OWI.

The envisioned infrastructure will not only contribute to Europe’s sovereignty for navigating and searching the web, it will also empower Europe’s researchers, innovators and business to systematically tap into the Web as business and innovation resource, without paying huge upfront costs. This will be particularly crucial for future AI innovations and relevant for other European infrastructure like e.g. the European Open Science Cloud, GAIA-X.

The project OpenWebSearch.EU has received funding from the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 101070014.

Events and Conferences

Project Kickoff Meeting, 20-22.09.2022, DLR-PT, Berlin, Germany;

The 4th International Open Search Symposium, 04-06.10.2023, CERN, Geneva, Switzerland; 

CONNECT University, 19.01.2023, Virtual Even of DG CNECT;

Project Meeting and ELSA Workshop, 17-20.04.2023, Graz, Austria;

Free Web Search Day, Knowledge Exchange Session, 29.09.2023, 13:00-15:00, LRZ, Munich;

The 5th International Open Search Symposium, 04-06.10.2023, CERN, Geneva, Switzerland;

Project Meeting and Exploitation Workshop, 18-20.10.2023, Ostrava, Czech Republic;

Next Generation Internet (NGI) Forum 2023, 15-16.11.2023, Brussels, Belgium;

Project Meeting, February 2024, The Netherlands;

The 6th International Open Search Symposium, October 2024, LRZ, Munich;

Project Meeting, October 2024, LRZ, Munich.

Highlights

Publications / Reports /News

Policy Paper on Open Web Search in Europe

The EU project OpenWebSearch.eu has successfully mastered the first phase. In the next steps, it is now important to explore how the Open Web Index (OWI) can be operated as a public infrastructure in the long term. This involves political support, funding models and governance structures. See the policy paper.

Opinion paper: Impact and development of an Open Web Index for Open Web Search | JASIST

The OpenWebSearch.Eu consortium published an opinion paper on “The Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology (JASIST)” about the impact and development of an Open Web Index. 

Read the full paper (as pdf).

Community Programme of OpenWebSearch.eu project

Apply to our open calls and get funded under the OpenWebSearch.eu Community Programme. Successful third-parties will be integrated into ongoing and future activities for sustainable Research and Development on Open Web Search. 

Open Call #2 "Applications of an Open Web Index" devoted to Search verticals and algorithmic contributions is announced since 8th of February, 2024. See further details within the respective Call #2 page of the project. 

Open Call #3 addresses the "Computing and data centress"  invites them to join the OpenWebSearch.eu network of infra­structure organi­sations and to host parts of the OWSAI infrastructure. It is announced since 8th of February, 2024. See details on the Call #3 page.

Fast Facts