4 June 2026

The revised WDS Constitution and Bylaws will be reviewed by the Scientific Committee in June. If approved, all proposed changes will move to a full membership vote in September–October.

Action required:
Please confirm your organization’s voting representative now. It takes only one minute! Access the form here to submit the name and contact details. The voting ballot will be sent directly to each confirmed representative.

Comprehensive information on the proposed changes will be shared soon. We encourage all members to review the materials as they are released and prepare for active participation.

Thank you for supporting WDS governance. For questions, contact wds-ipo@utk.edu.

International Data Week (IDW) is organized jointly by three leading global data organizations: CODATA, RDA, and WDS. Together, these founding organizations are inviting proposals to host the seventh edition of IDW in September/October/November 2029.

Conference Objective: The primary objective of the IDW conference is to bring together a large, representative portion of the global data community. Previous editions have been highly successful in fostering collaboration, innovation, and impact. As the global landscape evolves, the founding organizations seek local partners and venues that can help convey the excitement, mission, and urgency of these times in data science.

Engagement: International Data Week is a global and inclusive conference, dedicated to strengthening data communities worldwide. The founding organizations are keen to engage with cities and countries where IDW or related meetings have not previously been held (Information on past and upcoming IDW editions can be found on the IDW2029 Call for Applications document linked below). Applications from Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs) are strongly encouraged; proposals from the High Income Economies should show how they will work with the founding organizations to maximize participation from LMICs. Wherever the proposal comes from, it will be important to demonstrate how the partnership will advance the missions of the founding organizations, ensure the impact of IDW, and enhance membership of and engagement with the three organizations. Applications should demonstrate that local hosts have access to both a suitable physical venue and a virtual conference platform; strong support from local organizations and government; good connections to universities, industry, and research organizations in the country and region; and solid financial support.

Conference Format: IDW 2029 is envisioned as a four-day conference that integrates the activities of a SciDataCon international conference and an RDA Plenary Meeting. IDW includes both research sessions and focused working meetings, as well as broad plenary sessions of general interest. The days before and after each conference will be set aside for the business and governance meetings of CODATA, RDA, and WDS, as well as potentially other co-located meetings. While the primary purpose of the call for applications is to identify a host for the 2029 edition, applications received may also be considered for the 2031 edition.

Application Process & Deadline: Applications should be sent by email to all of the IDW founding organization representatives listed below, no later than 2 November 2026, in electronic format following the requirements of and template included in the IDW2029 Call for Applications document.

Join WDS for our upcoming webinar "CoreTrustSeal 2026–2028: Key Changes, Challenges, and Community Support." This webinar will provide an update on recent developments within the CoreTrustSeal certification framework. The session will introduce the 2026–2028 CoreTrustSeal Requirements, which came into effect earlier this year, and present key findings from the latest community consultation survey, highlighting areas of consensus on key changes compared to the previous version. In addition, the webinar will address recurring challenges that repositories face when meeting specific requirements, with particular attention to areas that consistently require additional guidance or interpretation. The discussion will also explore how CoreTrustSeal endorses and engages with community-led initiatives and good practices designed to support repositories in overcoming these challenges.

Date & Time: 10 June 2026, 18:00 UTC | 14:00 EDT

Are you attending Open Repositories 2026 (8-11 June 2026)? If so, look for WDS at the conference!

WDS-IPO Program Manager Daniela Santos Oliveira will be presenting at this conference on Tuesday, 9 June 2026, at 16:00 UTC. Her presentation is titled “Advancing Trustworthy Repositories: The Role of Certification and Self-Assessment within the World Data System Community,” which will explore how certification and self-assessment practices support trustworthy data repositories within the World Data System community. Daniela will share practical approaches for embedding FAIR and TRUST principles, discuss evolving certification criteria, and highlight tools and peer-support initiatives that help repositories enhance quality, resilience, and inclusivity, even when facing resource constraints.

Additionally, you can find a list of WDS member presentations on our website here.

International Data Week (IDW) 2027 will take place in Cape Town, South Africa, from 20-23 September 2027. Mark your calendars and plan to join us for this fantastic conference that brings together data professionals, researchers, policy makers, and innovators from around the world. Stay tuned for more details on the program and registration.

WDS hosted three webinars in April and May 2026:

If you missed these webinars and would like to watch them now, you can find the webinar recordings and slides on our Webinar Archive page.

DataCite is a global organization that provides Persistent Identifiers (PIDs) to research data, other research outputs, and resources, such as samples, preprints, software, etc. DataCite offers organizations in the research community the opportunity to register PID metadata to their research outputs and resources, which allows them to become discoverable. The metadata associated with the outputs and resources are then made available to the community, which helps strengthen the research ecosystem.

DataCite is a strong partner for WDS, as both organizations are actively working to promote open science and increase the adoption of PIDs among researchers and organizations. By providing PIDs and allowing PID metadata to be registered by organizations, DataCite is strengthening the research community through data findability and research connections, which correlates well with WDS’ mission. DataCite became an associate member of WDS in September 2014.

The Environmental Information Data Centre (EIDC) is the United Kingdom's national data center for terrestrial and freshwater sciences and accepts environmental data in re-usable formats for curation, including long-term storage and public dissemination. They assist researchers in ensuring that the data they produce are curated appropriately for the long-term, guaranteeing their security, accessibility, and re-usability for the user community. Additionally, they provide advice on best practice for data management during a project's lifetime and assistance in depositing data with the EIDC for long-term curation.

EIDC’s commitment to long-term data preservation and data reusability aligns well with the WDS mission. Their continued efforts to accept and manage data that is accessible and reusable, as well as their goal of long-term curation for acquired data, make them an excellent fit for WDS. EIDC became a regular member of WDS in October 2019.

Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID), a WDS partner member, is hosting multiple webinars during the month of June.

The BitCurator Consortium Forum 2026 will be held online on 17 June 2026. The theme of this event is “Hitting Reset.” The forum will balance discussion of theory and practice of digital forensics, curation, and related digital analysis workflows and will include a keynote speaker, lightning talk sessions, and a Great Question Session.

Time: 10:00-17:30 EDT | 14:00-21:30 UTC

The Digital Curation Centre (DCC) and the Research Data Alliance of Europe (RDA Europe) are hosting an online workshop titled “Self-assessing research data management and FAIR-enabling capabilities.” This workshop will:

Date & Time: 18 June 2026, 8:30-11:30 UTC

The Digital Research Alliance of Canada’s Data Repositories Expert Group (DREG) has started a working group to develop guidance to help researchers select data repositories in fulfillment of the Tri-Agency Research Data Management Policy data deposit requirement. This working group is conducting a literature review to identify characteristics across technical, operational, and organizational dimensions (including persistent identifiers, preservation, metadata, cybersecurity, data handling ethics, and Indigenous community engagement) with particular attention to Canadian priorities such as data sovereignty, bilingualism, and Tri-Agency alignment. A 90-minute community consultation webinar is being held to share preliminary results from this literature review and gather input on the characteristics identified.

Date & Time: 24 June 2026, 13:00–14:30 EDT | 17:00-18:30 UTC

The Archives & Records Association Conference 2026 will be held in Glasgow, Scotland, from 5-7 August 2026 and will explore a theme of “authenticity.” This conference aims to explore and interrogate the tensions between preservation and destruction, between authenticity and interpretation, and between professional values and practical realities, while also considering how authenticity can be meaningfully embedded in theory, practice, and education.

Registration Deadline: 13 July 2026

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is hosting the 2026 Global Conference on the International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development (2024-2033) on 15-17 July 2026 as a hybrid event in Paris, France. The conference will have the theme “Science in action: Charting a sustainable and equitable future for all” and will serve as a global platform to assess progress, share solutions, and forge the partnerships needed to mobilize science for sustainable development at scale.

The International Geographical Union (IGU) is hosting its IRC Regional Conference 2026 in Istanbul, Turkey, 17-21 August 2026. Participants can attend sessions reflecting the comprehensive perspective of Geography, meet with experts who will address important issues such as sustainable management of natural resources, climate change effects, protection of cultural heritage and digital geography, and share their knowledge and experiences, as well as establish new collaborations.

The ICSTI Annual Conference 2026, being hosted by WDS member Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI), will be held in Seoul, South Korea, from 6-7 August 2026. Registration for the conference is now open.

The Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) is hosting its SCOR 2026 Annual Meeting 8-10 September 2026 in Helsinki, Finland. You can find the event schedule and more information here.

iPRES 2026 will take place in Copenhagen, Denmark, and online from 21-25 September 2026. The conference themes are Community, Preservation, and Horizon, which encourage reflections on the evolving practices, innovations, and collaborations shaping the future of digital preservation.

The Singapore Open Research Conference 2026, being organized by WDS regular member DR-NTU (Data) and hosted by Nanyang Technological University, will take place in Singapore from 4-5 November 2026 with the theme “AI and Open Research: Building Trust, Ensuring Security, Driving Impact.” This conference aims to bring together researchers, research managers, librarians, research service providers, policy makers, funders, publishers, and leaders to explore how artificial intelligence is shaping open research and will examine important questions around trust, security, and impact, offering a platform to share insights, experiences, and best practices.

The Research Data Alliance (RDA) 27th Plenary Meeting (P27) will take place in London, United Kingdom, as an in-person event, 6-8 October 2026. P27 will be hosted by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) with the theme “Shaping a global open research commons.” Two calls are still open for various submission types:

Call for Ideas Pitch Sessions: These sessions are fast-paced, collaborative sessions where you pitch your idea to the RDA community in just seven minutes, giving you the chance to share your vision, connect with others, and discover potential collaborators, supporters, and resources.

Submission Deadline: 9 June 2026

Call for Posters: RDA members are invited to submit a poster as an opportunity to share your work, ideas, and research data challenges with the global RDA community.

Submission Deadline: 26 June 2026

The Research Data Alliance (RDA) is accepting nominations for the Sarah Jones Award – 2026 Edition. Nominees should be individuals who have demonstrated an exceptional contribution to fostering collaboration in Open Science. The impact can be organizational, community-based, or at the individual level. All nominees are welcome, not just members of the RDA community. However, a demonstration of a contribution to the RDA community is of importance.

Deadline: 14 June 2026

Fedora Camp 2026 will be held in Vienna, Austria, 2-4 September 2026. The call for presentation proposals is open and accepting multiple proposal types, including presentations, workshops, and lightning talks that showcase the flexibility and diversity of Fedora’s global community of users. Learn more about the event and proposal details here.

Submission Deadline: 1 July 2026

The International Digital Curation Conference 2027 (IDCC) will be held in Lisbon, Portugal, from 9-12 February 2027. The theme of this conference is “FAIR DO's: Centring People in the Stewardship and Curation of Digital Objects.” The conference is accepting five submission types: Papers, Lightning Talks, Posters, Demos, and Workshops.

Submission Deadlines:

The Generative Decision Science Conference, being held from 26-27 November 2026 in Johannesburg, South Africa, aims to explore the transformative role of data-driven decision-making in addressing complex societal challenges and emphasizes open science, data stewardship, and evidence-based decision-making as critical enablers of inclusive development, particularly in emerging economies. The conference has an open call for papers and invites submissions from scholars, industry practitioners, and post-graduate students with research interests in the fields of Decision Science, Data Science, Information Science, Information Management, Knowledge Management, Information Systems, and other information studies.

Submission Deadline: 31 August 2026

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is seeking new members to join its AI Consortium, which will concentrate on AI measurement, innovation, and adoption. Additionally, this group will focus on building an AI evaluation ecosystem, investing in AI-enabled science, and promoting the use of U.S.-developed AI technology and systems. The AI Consortium will have six task groups:

The National Digital Stewardship Alliance (NDSA) released its 2025 NDSA Fixity Survey Report. This report analyzes 89 completed survey responses to queries about fixity practices, what causes fixity errors, and how participants address fixity errors.

The article “Structural assurance inflation: perspectives on the value of trustworthy digital repository certification,” by Rebecca D. Frank, examines how staff members from CoreTrustSeal-certified repositories characterize the primary value of Trustworthy Digital Repository certification, which addresses a gap in empirical research about the value and/or benefits of certification.

“Data Infrastructure in Global South Sciences Systems” is a technology profile commissioned for Phase II of the Emerging technologies and transformations project, which is part of the International Science Council’s Science Systems Futures project, which “identifies four recurring institutional pathways through which science systems configure data storage and sharing infrastructure.” Meredith Goins (WDS-IPO Executive Director), Daniela Santos Oliveira (WDS-IPO Program Manager), and Reyna Broadhurst (WDS-ITO Director) are credited as reviewers on this profile.

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