›United Nations / Italy Workshop on the Open Universe Initiative

The November workshop will bring together experts from the space science and astronomy sector, as well as decision makers, educators, and practitioners to discuss the most recent advances and methods to access and utilize space science and astronomy data. The workshop openly invites participation from the world's providers of space science data and current and potential clients in education, commerce and other sectors, including the rapidly growing citizen science community.

The objectives of the United Nations/Italy Workshop are to:

1. Review the status of current initiatives in space science with regards to data sharing including lessons learned from the past, and on-going activities.
2. Promote the adoption of established best practices and standards in the field of astronomy and planetary science, and of FAIR principles in data sharing (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Re-usable).
3. Discuss long-term sustainability of astronomy and space science data archives as an enabler for the robust provision and preservation of science-ready data and its links to the UNISPACE+50 thematic priority 7 on "Capacity Building for the 21 ^st Century" and the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 9 on "Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation".
4. Exchange views on the design of a strategy to satisfy in a timely fashion the various requirements of an ever more diverse clientele, and on any expansion plans for service provision needed.
5. Examine the opportunities for education and capacity-building in the field of space-science data, linked to UNISPACE+50 Priority 7 "Capacity-building for the 21 ^st Century" and the Sustainable Development Goal number 4 on "Quality Education".
6. Explore the potential to foster citizen innovation through the access to open source science-ready astronomical data.
7. Discuss coordination of international efforts of providers of space science data according to a set of criteria on ease of access, quality, robustness, transparency, completeness and timeliness.
8. Discuss the way forward and objectives of the Open Universe Initiative, as well as related capacity-building and international cooperation activities, in preparation of UNISPACE+50 .