The Ocean Infohub (OIH) Project is pleased to announce the launch of their website to find useful information about OIH objectives and services. Published in February 2021, the OIH community is invited to discover the latest news and events of the project, as well as regions where the project is implemented and their official partners. Through this website, the OIH team would like to assist experts and ocean scientists in the dissemination of digital technology and sharing of ocean data.
Supported by the Government of Flanders, Kingdom of Belgium, and implemented by the IODE Project Office of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC-UNESCO), the OIH Project aims to improve access to global ocean information, data and knowledge products for sustainable development. It also focuses on fostering the discovery and interoperability of existing information systems through the development of the Ocean Data and Information System (ODIS) architecture.
As part of its key components, the OIH Project includes online resources implemented by IOC-UNESCO: OceanExpert, OceanDocs/Aquadocs, the Ocean Best Practices System, the Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS), the World Ocean Database (WOD) and Ocean Data Portal (ODP) – extended by partnerships with EurOcean, Marinetraining.eu, EMODNET, and other sources in the ODIS Catalogue of Sources (ODIScat).
The project will benefit marine and coastal stakeholders across the globe, but its initial focus will be on responding to requests for data products and services from three regions: Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean and the Pacific Small Island Developing States to meet their unique user community (thematic and language) requirements. The initial priorities for the project will be to develop communities of practice, as well as to formalize partnerships with other UN agencies and international partners.
Through these actions, the OIH Project will also enable a digital ecosystem where users, from any entry point, can discover content and services that they require, while also having opportunities to become content creators themselves.