Data Rescue Efforts at a Defunded Data Repository

11 March 2026

This webinar, featuring Alex de Sherbinin, focused on data rescue efforts and other lessons learned in the wake of the contract termination of the NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC), which was managed by Columbia University’s CIESIN since the late 1990s. It offers lessons for other data repositories and underscores the importance of solidarity in the data community in the face of shrinking resources and waning political support for data preservation.

Alex de Sherbinin served as a manager of the NASA SEDAC from 2006-2025. He was also a member then chair of the WDS Scientific Committee from 2015-2021, of which SEDAC was a regular member. Dr. de Sherbinin is a geographer whose research interests focus on the human aspects of global environmental change and geospatial data applications, integration, and dissemination.

View presentation slides here.

Persistent Identifiers: Enabling Trust & Discovery in Research Data (Asia-Oceania Session)

10 February 2026

The World Data System hosted a webinar featuring speakers from Research Organization Registry (ROR), DataCite, Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI), and Worldwide Protein DataBank (wwPDB) to explore how persistent identifiers (PIDs) strengthen trust and facilitate discovery in research data.

To accommodate the global community, this event was held twice in different time zones. This session featured a use case from a valued WDS member, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KISTI). This presentation covered benefits, challenges, solutions adopted, and lessons learned from implementing PIDs in their workflows.

View presentation slides here.

Persistent Identifiers: Enabling Trust & Discovery in Research Data (Europe-Americas Session)

10 February 2026

The World Data System hosted a webinar featuring speakers from Research Organization Registry (ROR), DataCite, Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI), and Worldwide Protein DataBank (wwPDB) to explore how persistent identifiers (PIDs) strengthen trust and facilitate discovery in research data.

To accommodate the global community, this event was held twice in different time zones. This session featured a use case from WDS member Worldwide Protein DataBank (wwPDB), highlighting their experiences with PIDs for data discoverability and integrity.

View presentation slides here.

AI & ML in Polar Science: Challenges and Best Practices

17 September 2025

The webinar examined how Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are being applied to address the challenges of rapid environmental and social change in the Arctic and Antarctic. Presenters—including Johnathan Kool (Australian Antarctic Data Centre), Munish Madan (Arctic Institute of North America), and Christy Caudill (Canadian Biogenome Project)—shared insights on optimizing metadata, evaluating the capabilities and limitations of AI/ML in polar research, and co-developing AI tools with Indigenous Data Sovereignty considerations.

The session highlighted practical strategies for integrating FAIR principles into research workflows, discussed ethical frameworks for collaboration with Indigenous communities, and addressed challenges such as algorithmic bias and intellectual property concerns, using real-world case studies to illustrate best practices.

View presentation slides here.

WDS Webinar Series on International Repository-related Policies: Chile and Paraguay

4 September 2025

The webinar on International Repository-related Policies, with a focus on Chile and Paraguay, brought together regional experts to discuss data repository policies and foster international collaboration. Featuring insights from Isabel Abedrapo (Chile) and Liz Bettina García Márquez (Paraguay), and moderated by Andrea Mora Campos (Costa Rica), the session explored unique challenges and opportunities in the region. The webinar inspired new partnerships and helped develop actionable guidelines to advance Open Science initiatives tailored to Latin American needs. The webinar was presented in Spanish with a bilingual moderator.

View presentation slides here.