IODE Associate Information Units : A New Opportunity for Marine Information Managers to Participate at the Global Level

How can the marine information management community participate more actively within the International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE) Network? Although there are National Coordinators for Marine Information Management, there has been no other mechanism for IODE to communicate directly with other marine information professionals, and it has been a challenge for IODE to reach the broader marine information community. This changed in 2017 at the 24th session of the IOC Committee on IODE when the Committee approved the establishment of Associate Information Units (AIUs). Interested regional or national projects, programmes, institutions or organizations with information activities can apply to become an AIU, and if approved, benefit from the ability to influence the IODE Committee decisions on global marine data and information initiatives. A representative from the Joint IODE-IAMSLIC Group of Experts in Marine Information Management in a Transitional Capacity (GEMIM- in-T), which was tasked with designing and managing the application process, presented this new opportunity to conference attendees. She outlined the benefits, reviewed the Terms of Reference, described the application process, and shared progress-to-date. For anyone wishing to apply, the AIU application form is available at: http://www.iode.org/ai