Dear Friends
Please find attached and below, the announcement of the International Symposium on Open Access and the Public Domain in Digital Data and Information for Science. This takes place in UNESCO, Paris on 10/11 March 2003. I would appreciate if this information could be disseminated within your respective organization, institution and university. Detailed information can also be found on http://www.codata.org
 
Please note that registration is free but numbers are limited.
 
Kathleen Cass
Executive Director, CODATA
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International Symposium on Open Access and the Public Domain in
Digital Data and Information for Science
 
Announcement
This international symposium will be held 10-11 March 2003 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. It is being jointly organized by the Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA), the National Academies, US, the International Council for Science (ICSU), UNESCO and the International Council for Scientific and Technical Information (ICSTI), to address the following Statement of Task:
 
1.       Describe the role, value, and limits that the public domain and open access to digital data and information have in the context of international research.
2.       Identify and analyze the various legal, economic, and technological pressures on the public domain in digital data and information, and their potential effects on international research.
3.       Review the existing and proposed approaches for preserving and promoting the public domain and open access to S&T data and information on a global basis, with particular attention to the needs of developing countries.
4.       Identify and analyze important issues for follow up by the ICSU family of organizations and for the development of an Action Plan in this area by ICSU and UNESCO in preparation for the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).
 
The symposium will bring together leading experts and managers from the government and academic sectors in the developed and developing world, who are involved in the creation, dissemination, and use of data and information in public research. The symposium program and additional background information are available on the CODATA Web site.
 
Symposium Registration
The registration is free and open to the public, but seating is limited. Participants are encouraged to register online as soon as possible.