[okfn-discuss] Fwd: CODATA Press Release: The Polar Information Commons (PIC): Establishing the Framework for Long-term Stewardship of Polar Data and Information

[Jonathan Gray]

This looks interesting!

J.

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News from the CODATA_International eList follows from here:
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PRESS RELEASE

Monday 23 Feb 2009

The Polar Information Commons (PIC): Establishing the Framework for
Long-term Stewardship of Polar Data and Information

"Data are the common wealth of humanity"

Adama Samassekou

Convener of the UN World Summit on the Information Society

The International Polar Year 2007-2008 (IPY) has been a huge,
scientific success, resulting in new insights in how the polar regions
work. Now that the IPY officially draws to a close, it is critical to
ensure that the data generated by IPY projects are accessible and
preserved for future generations to benefit from.

CODATA, the Committee on Data for Science and Technology, is starting
a new initiative to establish a Polar Information Commons (PIC), to
further the process of ensuring long-term stewardship of and access to
polar data and information coming out of the IPY.

This project: The Polar Information Commons (PIC): Establishing the
Framework for Long-term Stewardship of Polar Data and Information,
aims to establish a sustainable long-term framework for the
preservation and access of polar data, building on recent "commons"
approaches developed in other scientific fields and entraining new
stakeholders and participants into polar data management.

Experiences in other scientific communities, such as the
biodiversity/conservation and neuroscience communities, has shown that
a "commons" approach will strengthen incentives for scientists,
research institutions, nations, and other groups to contribute and
document data, reduce barriers to data sharing, and provide a focal
point for community efforts to fill in data gaps, improve data
quality, and promote data access and usability.

CODATA looks forward to working with its supporting partners, the
International Arctic Science Council (IASC); the Scientific Committee
on Antarctic Research (SCAR); the International Union of Geodesy and
Geophysics (IUGG); the World Meteorological Organization (WMO); the
IPY International Program Office (IPY IPO); the World Data System
Transition Team and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences and many
stakeholders in the development of this project and it thanks ICSU,
the International Council for Science, for its support in the launch
of the activity.

For more information, please contact Kathleen Cass, CODATA Executive
Director at codata at dial.oleane.com

______________________________________________________________

CODATA, the Committee on Data for Science and Technology, is an
international scientific organization concerned with the collection,
management, manipulation, access to and exploitation of quantitative
data in science and technology. For over 40 years, CODATA has been at
the centre of international, multi-lateral, multi-disciplinary
cooperation for data activities. Through its task groups, conferences
and publications, CODATA enriches the scientific world with the latest
advances in data and data technology. The CODATA Secretariat is
located in Paris, France, and serves a world-wide network of over 20
national committees and 14 scientific union members, as well as many
supporting organizations. For more information: www.codata.org

CODATA Secretariat, 5 Auguste Vacquerie, 75016 Paris, France.
codata at dial.oleane.com

-- 
Jonathan Gray

Community Coordinator
The Open Knowledge Foundation
http://www.okfn.org