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<p align="center" style="margin:0in;text-align:center"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#555555"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin:0in;text-align:center"><strong><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#555555">Update from the BIOFAIR Data Network Project</span></strong><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#555555"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#555555"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#555555">The Biodiversity Collections Network (BCoN), in collaboration with the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS), held a series of domain-focused virtual
listening sessions over the summer to engage an expansive set of stakeholders toward Building an Integrated, Open, Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (BIOFAIR) Data Network.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#555555"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0in"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#555555">The sessions convened stakeholders from the <a href="https://t.congressweb.com/l/?SWQPRDAHHKVFMBW"><span style="color:#0068A5">federal agency</span></a>, <a href="https://t.congressweb.com/l/?SWQPRDAHHKVUYOE"><span style="color:#0068A5">genetic
and genomic data</span></a>, <a href="https://t.congressweb.com/l/?SWQPRDAHHKWSQNN"><span style="color:#0068A5">One Health</span></a>, <a href="https://t.congressweb.com/l/?SWQPRDAHHKDVGNC"><span style="color:#0068A5">ecological data</span></a>, <a href="https://t.congressweb.com/l/?SWQPRDAHHKWMLNK"><span style="color:#0068A5">climate
and environmental data</span></a>, and <a href="https://t.congressweb.com/l/?SWQPRDAHHKFLIVR"><span style="color:#0068A5">biodiversity informatics</span></a> communities to explore the initiation of a comprehensive biological and environmental data network
through the creation of a collaborative and accessible partnership. Brief summaries from each of these sessions are available on the links above.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<h3 align="center" style="margin:0in;text-align:center;line-height:120%"><span class="tinymce-placeholder"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:120%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#555555">Summary Report
</span></span><strong><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:120%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#555555">Available</span></strong><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:120%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#555555"><br>
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<o:p></o:p></span></h3>
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<p style="margin:0in"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#555555">The final summary report focusing on the areas of unity across the six virtual Listening Sessions is now available. It enumerates the various barriers to data
integration and offers recommendations to overcome these challenges. We welcome further input on this report via the comment section of the page linked below or via email to
<a href="mailto:bcon@aibs.org"><span style="color:#0068A5">bcon@aibs.org</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<h3 align="center" style="margin:0in;text-align:center;line-height:120%"><strong><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:120%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#555555">Join us for a Webinar</span></strong><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:120%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#555555"><o:p></o:p></span></h3>
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<p style="margin:0in"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#555555">The steering committee will be holding a webinar on <strong><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Wednesday, November 13, 2024 at 3:00 PM ET</span></strong>
to discuss this report and to gather additional feedback to inform preparations for the upcoming workshop (February 2025) to develop recommendations and create a roadmap towards a FAIR, open, and integrated data network.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><a href="https://t.congressweb.com/l/?SWQPRDAHHKWLLHR" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></a></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:white"><a href="https://t.congressweb.com/l/?SWQPRDAHHKWLLHR" target="_blank"><span style="color:white;text-decoration:none">Read the report.</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:white;text-decoration:none"><o:p></o:p></span></a></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><a href="https://t.congressweb.com/l/?SWQPRDAHHKMFHRY" target="_blank"><o:p></o:p></a></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:white"><a href="https://t.congressweb.com/l/?SWQPRDAHHKMFHRY" target="_blank"><span style="color:white;text-decoration:none">Register for the webinar.</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:white;text-decoration:none"><o:p></o:p></span></a></span></p>
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