It’s been such a fantastic week.
Five years ago, I would never have believed this was possible for OBIS. I’m so proud of my colleagues and the whole OBIS community — what we are achieving collectively is truly unbelievable. It was so inspiring to see all the contributions from our community during Living Data 2025, and witness the interactions and the discussions moving towards a shared common goal: mobilizing data for a better Planet.
Let me start with my personal impressions. Through Living Data 2025, I realized how OBIS is now an active, recognized part of a global, diverse, and dedicated data community. More than ever, every species counts. More than ever, every dataset matters. Locked information is useless: biodiversity data belongs on the global stage.
Institutionally, the conference has been incredibly rich. OBIS co-led over 15 sessions and was involved in numerous presentations. We highlighted our collaborative work with the Global Ocean Observing System on the Biology and Ecosystem Essential Ocean Variables. We renewed our partnership with GBIF and reconfirmed our Joint Strategy for Marine Biodiversity Data. But perhaps most importantly, the conference has shown the work done behind the scenes by people who do what they do for the love of the ocean.
In our daily work, we regularly connect and collaborate with colleagues from GBIF, TDWG, and the GEOBON network. But we rarely see the bigger picture. Living Data 2025 brought exactly that: a sense of collaboration, a way to show joint efforts and togetherness. Few of us can travel to four conferences a year, one for each network. Here at Living Data, we are able to immerse ourselves in each other’s work. to learn by listening, and to connect by sharing.
At one point during the conference, I took a step back and realized something powerful: every participant is a driving force that gets stronger by connecting to others. In the past decade, we have been removing so many barriers between disciplines, between realms, between fields. Living Data felt like an embodiment of this achievement. We are all working together for the common good. And when we are united, aligned, and connected, we move faster and further.
But there are challenges on the way. I can list five.
The first challenge and the elephant in the room - so I’ll get it out of the way first - is money. There is so much money being poured into support for big data, machine learning, and AI. But there is very little dedicated to support our data communities: we all work hard, with minimal resources, and still, amazingly, we manage to deliver, support, and inform. The true cost of data systems is rarely written into projects. Or it’s only added as an afterthought… Sadly, this issue is common across domains and in most parts of the world.
The second challenge is time. Nobody has time. We’re all running at full speed, we are at full capacity, or even beyond. But we need to keep talking to each other. Personal connection is essential. That’s why a conference like Living Data 2025 is so important. Fantastic ideas spark from discussions at coffee breaks. Collaborations are born around a plate of arepas. Inspiration flows from conversations in the hallways as much as from formal sessions.
The third challenge is visibility.
Too much great work is still hidden. We need to document our code, our products, our processes. We need to share them openly. That is the spirit of Open Science: sharing so we do not reinvent the wheel, and learning from one another. We can benefit from the collectivity. Last night, Arthur Chapman said something that stayed with me: “If you do not share, if you keep things to yourself, nobody will know how valuable you are.” I’ll let that sink in.
The fourth challenge is recognition.
20 years ago, data management was a niche. Today, data management is recognized as vital for decision-making, sustainable resource management and informed policymaking. Our biodiversity data community has earned its place of the global stage, and that’s something we can be proud of. But we need to remain active, visible and relevant to keep our seat on that stage.
Finally, the fifth challenge I would like to highlight is gender balance.
We have come a long way, but we still need to make an effort. Progress is happening, and it’s visible. Looking around this room, I’m proud to see a community moving towards true balance, inclusion, and shared purpose. We have one ocean, and many voices: this is exactly what makes our science better, our teams more resilient, and our world more fair.
So let’s keep the energy going, keep the conversations alive. The data may be living, but it’s up to us to keep the community alive too!
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Ward Appeltans, 24 October 2025
Bogotá, Colombia