International Data Week (IDW) is a landmark event is organised by the Committee on Data (CODATA) and the World Data System (WDS) of the International Science Council (ISC), and the Research Data Alliance (RDA). 

It brings together data scientists, researchers, industry leaders, entrepreneurs, policymakers and data stewards from disciplines across the globe to explore how best to exploit the data revolution to improve science and society through data-driven discovery and innovation. 

IDW combines the RDA Plenary Meeting, the biannual meeting of this international member organisation working to develop and support global infrastructure facilitating data sharing and reuse, and SciDataCon, the scientific conference addressing the frontiers of data in research organised by CODATA and WDS.

CODATA

CODATA’s mission is to connect data and people to advance science and improve our world.  As the Committee on Data of the International Science Council, CODATA helps realise ISC’s vision of science as a global public good  mission of advancing science as a global public good.  Established in 1966, CODATA’s membership includes National Academies, Science Councils, International Scientific Unions and Associations and other organisations that care about data.  CODATA works with its membership and community to promote global collaboration to advance Open Science and to improve the availability and usability of data for all areas of research.

http://www.codata.org/

Research Data Alliance (RDA)

Research Data Alliance was established in 2013 by several funding agencies in Europe, the United States, and Australia. Its membership is comprised of individuals and organizations (private and non-profit). Its focus is on the detailed implementation of policies, practices, and technologies (i.e., infrastructure) that lower barriers to data exchange.

https://rd-alliance.org/

World Data System (WDS)

The World Data System (WDS) of the International Science Council (ISC) was established in 2008 (its predecessor bodies were established in 1957). It supports the ISC’s vision that ‘Scientific knowledge, data and expertise must be universally accessible and its benefits universally shared’ by promoting long-term stewardship of, and universal and equitable access to, quality-assured scientific data and data services, products, and information across all disciplines. WDS facilitates scientific research under the ISC umbrella by coordinating and supporting trustworthy scientific data services in the provision, use, and preservation of their datasets, while strengthening their links with the research community. To fulfil its remit, WDS builds worldwide ‘communities of excellence’ comprising of certified scientific data services (its Member Organizations)—holders and providers of data or data products—to form a distributed, interoperable data system.

https://www.worlddatasystem.org/

Three editions of IDW have taken place to date:

  1. IDW 2016, 11–17 September 2016, Denver, Colorado, USA; attended by 840 data professionals and researchers from all disciplines and from across the globe.
  2. IDW 2018, 5–8 November 2018, Gaborone, Botswana; attended by more than 850 international data professionals and researchers.
  3. IDW 2022, 20-23 June 2022, Seoul, South Korea; attended by 827 participants from 50 countries. 182 attended onsite and 645 virtually.