The theme chosen for this edition of International Data Week is DATA TO IMPROVE OUR WORLD. In the era of the fourth industrial revolution, data have become an important resource that drives science and technology and leads to new discoveries, innovation, and economic growth.
We are now capable of producing and analyzing enormous quantities of data: in principle, everything in the universe in which we are living can be represented by data. As a result there is a growing emphasis on data: the development of a science of data, of data infrastructures and important debates over how data is governed and managed. With education, regulation and the necessary infrastructures and processes, data can be used to improve our lives and the world around us.
Open Science and the FAIR Principles are important enablers of discovery and innovation, particularly the use of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence. In 2021, we will likely see the adoption by UNESCO of a landmark recommendation on Open Science recognising its importance to help us to address the major global challenges faced by our societies. Access to trustworthy and FAIR data is a precondition to the science needed to enable us to reduce the impact of diseases, mitigate climate change, and become more resilient to risks posed by natural and human-made disasters.
It is in the above spirit that International Data Week 2022 is convened under the overarching theme of ‘Data to Improve Our World’. In addition to highlighting the need for data education and governance, demonstrating the importance of high-quality research data stewardship, data science, and data infrastructures, and exploring the ‘state of the art’ in all things data, IDW 2022 will also emphasise the following subthemes:
- Research Transparency and Reproducibility
- Data, Research, and Industry: The Interface between Data-intensive Research and Innovation
- Empowering and Enabling Society: Data (Science) Education and Data Literacy
- Transdisciplinary Research and Citizen Science
Two 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.