A ceremony was held yesterday to mark five years of successful collaboration between the Japanese National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) and the International Council for Science (ICSU) for the hosting and supporting of the World Data System – International Programme Office (WDS-IPO). The WDS-IPO was established in April 2011 and formally inaugurated in May 2012. A new hosting agreement was signed last year covering the present until 2021.

ICSU President Gordon McBean, in a video message shown at the ceremony, said: 'Research is increasingly dependent on access to quality-assured data across multiple scientific domains; in particular to tackle the pressing challenges of sustainability and the resilient management of our planet'. He continued: 'It is vital that the data underlying scientific research are properly preserved and openly shared to facilitate scrutiny and reuse'. Prof Kazuyuki Tatsumi, a member of the ICSU Executive Board, also mentioned the recent Science International accord on Open Data in a Big Data World agreed by the ICSU and its international partners. 

The event featured presentations looking at past achievements, future developments, and also the challenges and opportunities for ICSU-WDS in the evolving international landscape of research data sharing and stewardship. Especially, two lectures by Dr Ingrid Dillo (Vice-chair of the WDS Scientific Committee [WDS-SC]) and Prof Masaru Kitsuregawa (Director General of the National Institute of Informatics) addressed, respectively, the key issues of building trust through data repository certification and data integration.

Amongst the many notable participants, the ceremony was attended by Prof Keisuke Hanaki, Vice President of the Science Council of Japan; Dr Fumihiko Tomita, Vice President of NICT; Prof Sandy Harrison, Chair of the WDS-SC; and Prof Emeritus Norihisa Doi, Chair of the WDS National Promotion Council of Japan.

Presentations and Lectures:

• Dr Fumihiko Tomita, NICT Vice President [Slides PDF]
• Prof Gordon McBean, ICSU President [Video Message]
• Prof Sandy Harrison, WDS-SC Chair [Slides PDF]
• Dr Mustapha Mokrane, WDS Executive Director [Slides PDF]
• Dr Yasuhiro Murayama, NICT/WDS-SC ex officio [Slides PDF]
• Dr Ingrid Dillo, WDS-SC Vice-chair [Slides PDF]

Photos

Photos of the event can be found here.