Acting Locally and Networking Globally

Liu, C.

Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101 China

Your Excellences, Ladies and Gentlemen,

We, the leaders of the Internet governance, contributors and beneficiaries of the internet around the world, hereby get together again to share our experiences from all corners of the world. We try to explorer solutions in any possible way for the common and even special challenges we are currently facing now and the foreseeable future.

We understand that the global change issues are not only the issue of climate change, but also a series of issues regarding human beings. Change is happening everywhere across the world. So, it is a global challenge, and the changes happening in one place affect its neighborhood, the changes happening today affects tomorrow. What we do today, our children and grandchildren will bear the consequences. So, it is so important that no one should stay out of it. This is the only effective way for us to coordinate together on the global affairs.

Therefore, if we agree that global change issues are of concern, then the solution can be making to use the internet and big data. We, present here today, work done by many people in developing a series of datasets related to the global change and sustainable development, of which, most of them are in local contents. These datasets are most valuable for the global big data infrastructure, and reaching Sustainable Development Goals.

In order to make these datasets openly available, accessible, quality reliable, worldwide re-useable and with the intellectual property protection, we established a global change research data publishing and sharing platform—GCdataPR (Global Change Research Data Publishing & Repository). By peer review method, the datasets contributed by individual authors from different local places are made openly accessible at the platform according to the standard geospatial and content classification. Like many platforms else for the data sharing, the GCdataPR is an accelerator for enhancing open sciences and discoveries.

Each dataset has several attributes such as data authors, metadata, data papers, data journals, data products, data applications, etc. The infrastructure and networking in different dimensions of the global data resources were established and will continue to be developed, include those that link metadata with the Digital Object Identifies (DOI), link researchers and authors with ORCID or ResearcherID, link data product to searchable system, such as Data Citation Index (DCI); link data papers with journals searchable, such as Science Citation Index (SCI), link application systems and value added services, such as Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), World Data System, etc.

We, in local places, work on the data standards and policies coordination, so that the local computer servers can be communicated and interoperated. We propose to have workshops to address any emerging challenge and come up with new solutions among the stakeholders.

Since the GCdataPR officially launched in June 2014, more than 500 contributors from 11 countries submitted their datasets for publishing, and more than 30,000 IP users from more than 70 countries of the world have accessed the data freely. It benefits not only users, but also authors too. From what we had experienced during the last years, the key point of the governance of internet + big data for global change studies and decision makings is to benefit society in any possible way. Based on this concept and principle, we coordinate with the stakeholders, including authors and users, governments and funding agencies to contribute our local knowledge and data products to the society through internet by the GCdataPR and the partner platforms.

This is our experience that we have dedicated and practiced for so many years and would like to share it with you, that is acting locally and networking globally.

Thank you!

Background：

The UN Internet Governance Forum (IGF) 2016 was held from 6-9 December 2016 in Mexico. The IGF is the follow up action of the World Summit of Information Society (Geneva 2003 and Tunis 2005). Since the first IGF was held in 2006, there are ten IGF conferences (Table 1) (2006-2016).

Table 1  Meetings List of Internet Governance Forum, United Nations (UN IGF)

The overall theme of the IGF XI 2016 is “Enabling Inclusive and Sustainable Growth”. The meeting included 205 sessions as well as 24 pre-events. More than 3,000 leaders and experts from more than 100 countries participated the meeting. Professor Liu, Chuang is the leader of the delegation of Chinese Association of Science and Technology (CAST). The members of the CAST delegation includes Professor Tao, Xiaofeng of the Beijing Post and Communication University, Professor Zhou, Xiang of Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mr. Liu, Guoliang, Director of Department of Information Management of Information Center of Chinese Association for Science and Technology (CAST), Mr. Wang, Huijun, Engineer of China Computer Federation and Mrs. Ma, Jing, Chief of Consultant Committee of ICT for UN of the Chinese Association of Science and Technology (CAST). As a panel, Prof. Liu, Chuang had two speeches at the main session. One is the Pioneer of China Internet—Madam Hu, Qiheng focused on the women’s role in internet governance. The other one focused on the Acting Locally and Networking Globally in the local content governance.

Figure 1  Group photo of panels at the main session, IGF 2016 (Guadalajara, Mexico)