23rd International CODATA Conference

As President of CODATA I am delighted to welcome you to the official website of the 23rd International CODATA Conference “Open Data and Information for a Changing Planet”.

Never before have scientific data and information played such a major role in addressing the problems and challenges facing our planet. The calls for freely available, publicly accessible data are gaining a stronger voice. The June 2011 editorial in Nature highlighted the value of open access to global nuclear-monitoring data, and the benefits of such data for a variety of applications, “in times of both calm and crisis.”

The theme “Open Data and Information for a Changing Planet” encompasses some relevant issues in data-intensive scientific fields. Nurturing an open environment for data and information is crucial for disseminating research results to a wide audience and allowing thorough, collaborative analysis. Also, the theme distinguishes between data and information and by so doing highlights the role data-intensive science plays in transforming raw observations into applicable, intelligible results and discoveries. Furthermore, the theme emphasizes that our scientific endeavors, and the data that sustain them, are key to providing reasoned solutions to the problems we face with climate change, population pressure, natural hazards, and other global issues. The theme supports not only the mission of CODATA, but that of ICSU, as it strives to strengthen international science for the benefit of society.

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