<div dir="ltr"><div><img src="cid:ii_jpzkggnj0" alt="image.png" style="margin-right: 0px;"><br></div><p class="gmail-Body" style="margin:6px 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;font-family:"Droid Sans",sans-serif;vertical-align:top;line-height:24px;color:rgb(51,51,51)">The December solstice was 22:23 UTC on Friday 21 December, so this comes a ‘little’ late.  Nevertheless, I would like to send the warmest best wishes to everyone involved in CODATA activities and to the wider global research data community.  <strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:top">2018 has been a significant year for CODATA and you may find some of the following interesting:</strong></p><p class="gmail-Body" style="margin:6px 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;font-family:"Droid Sans",sans-serif;vertical-align:top;line-height:24px;color:rgb(51,51,51)"><strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:top">‘A milestone in the history of science’:</strong> the redefinition of the International System of Units was based on the work of <strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:top"><a href="http://www.codata.org/news/295/62/A-milestone-in-the-history-of-science-based-on-work-of-the-CODATA-the-Committee-on-Data-of-the-International-Science-Council" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-weight:inherit;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:top;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(59,102,60)">CODATA and the Task Group for Fundamental Constants</a></strong>.</p><p class="gmail-Body" style="margin:6px 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;font-family:"Droid Sans",sans-serif;vertical-align:top;line-height:24px;color:rgb(51,51,51)"><strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:top">International Data Week</strong>, held in Gaborone, Botswana was an enormous success with 850 participants.  Selected paper will be published in the <a href="https://datascience.codata.org/" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-weight:inherit;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:top;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(59,102,60)"><strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:top">CODATA Data Science Journal</strong>.</a></p><p class="gmail-Body" style="margin:6px 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;font-family:"Droid Sans",sans-serif;vertical-align:top;line-height:24px;color:rgb(51,51,51)"><strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:top"><a href="https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.2222418" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-weight:inherit;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:top;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(59,102,60)">The vision and strategy for the African Open Science Platform</a></strong> was launched at Science Forum South Africa, in a <strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:top"><a href="https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.2357337" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-weight:inherit;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:top;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(59,102,60)">presentation by co-chair Khotso Mokhele</a></strong>.  A founding members’ meeting will be hosted at the Biblioteca Alexandrina later in 2019.</p><p class="gmail-Body" style="margin:6px 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;font-family:"Droid Sans",sans-serif;vertical-align:top;line-height:24px;color:rgb(51,51,51)">The <strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:top"><a href="http://dataintegration.codata.org/" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-weight:inherit;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:top;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(59,102,60)">ISC CODATA initiative on Data Interoperability Integration for Interdisciplinary Research</a></strong>made progress, notably through a very successful <strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:top"><a href="https://ddi-alliance.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/DDI4/pages/433553433/Interoperability+of+Metadata+Standards+in+Cross-Domain+Science+Health+and+Social+Science+Applications" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-weight:inherit;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:top;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(59,102,60)">Dagstuhl Workshop co-organised with the DDI Alliance</a>:</strong> this will result in a series of articles on data integration challenges in cross-disciplinary research areas.</p><p class="gmail-Body" style="margin:6px 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;font-family:"Droid Sans",sans-serif;vertical-align:top;line-height:24px;color:rgb(51,51,51)">Other notable activities include the work of the<strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:top"> <a href="http://www.codata.org/strategic-initiatives/international-data-policy-committee" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-weight:inherit;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:top;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(59,102,60)">Data Policy Committee</a></strong>, a major contribution to the European Commission report on <strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:top"><a href="https://doi.org/10.2777/1524" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-weight:inherit;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:top;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(59,102,60)">Turning FAIR into Reality</a></strong> and the ongoing series of <strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:top"><a href="http://www.codata.org/working-groups/research-data-science-summer-schools" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-weight:inherit;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:top;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(59,102,60)">CODATA-RDA Data Schools</a></strong>.</p><p class="gmail-Body" style="margin:6px 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;font-family:"Droid Sans",sans-serif;vertical-align:top;line-height:24px;color:rgb(51,51,51)">Finally, we are grateful for the enormous contribution that Past President Geoffrey Boulton has made to CODATA.  The CODATA General Assembly at the University of Botswana 9-10 November elected <a href="http://www.codata.org/news/296/62/New-CODATA-Executive-Committee-2018-2020" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-weight:inherit;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:top;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(59,102,60)"><strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:top">a new President, Barend Mons, and a new Executive Committee</strong>.</a> <strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:top">We look forward to further increasing CODATA’s impact and to promoting international collaboration for Open Science and FAIR data.</strong></p><p class="gmail-Body" style="margin:6px 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;font-family:"Droid Sans",sans-serif;vertical-align:top;line-height:24px;color:rgb(51,51,51)"><strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:top">Thanks,</strong></p><p class="gmail-Body" style="margin:6px 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;font-family:"Droid Sans",sans-serif;vertical-align:top;line-height:24px;color:rgb(51,51,51)"><strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:top">Asha</strong></p><p class="gmail-Body" style="margin:6px 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;font-family:"Droid Sans",sans-serif;vertical-align:top;line-height:24px;color:rgb(51,51,51)">On behalf of Simon Hodson, Executive Director, CODATA</p><div><br></div>-- <div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr" style="font-size:small"><br></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-size:small">Asha Law | Program Assistant, CODATA | <a href="http://www.codata.org/" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">http://www.codata.org</a></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-size:small"><br></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-size:small">E-Mail: <a href="mailto:asha@codata.org" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">asha@codata.org</a><br></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-size:small">Tel (Office): +33 1 45 25 04 96</div><div dir="ltr" style="font-size:small"><br></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-size:small">CODATA (Committee on Data of the International Council for Science), 5 rue Auguste Vacquerie, 75016 Paris, FRANCE<br></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>