Indigenous Data Alliance Recent Highlights

2025 Comes To A Close

It's been an exciting year, and there has been a lot of change and growth!

Although we may be on a Winter break, there's still a survey to participate in and time for early bird registration for the 2026 US IDSov & IDGov Summit.

Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) invites your participation in an important survey

At its fifteenth meeting in December 2022, the Conference of the Parties (COP) decided to establish a multilateral mechanism for benefit-sharing from the use of DSI on genetic resources (15/9). Digital sequence information on genetic resources was also incorporated into Goal C and Target 13 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

At its sixteenth meeting, held last year in Cali, Colombia Parties adopted decision 16/2, which set out the modalities for operationalizing this multilateral mechanism, including a global fund (the Cali Fund).

The Cali Fund was officially launched in February this year as a UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund. To learn more about its operationalization, please consult this explainer video and the Cali Fund guide for the private sector.

The Cali COP also outlined intersessional work to further develop the multilateral mechanism at COP17. This includes exploring possible tools and platforms, such as databases, for making digital sequence information on genetic resources available and accessible in a transparent and accountable manner. To support this, a study is being conducted to examine options for making digital sequence information on genetic resources publicly available and accessible in a transparent and accountable manner.

The CBD has prepared a survey related to this topic and would greatly appreciate your participation. If you have questions or comments, please do not hesitate to reach out at anmmccar@ucsc.edu.

Participate In The Survey Here

Winter is a time for reflection, rest and restoration.

As we move toward the new year, we are grateful for what 2025 has made possible, including organizations, partners, and communities coming together to form the Indigenous Data Alliance.

We are deeply grateful for this first collaborative chapter of learning, relationship-building, and alignment.

During this break, our team will be resting, reflecting, and preparing for what’s ahead, including our 2026 U.S. Indigenous Data Sovereignty & Governance Summit in April. (See details below)

We look forward to engaging with you in the new year and continuing to learn how we can best collaborate with and support Indigenous communities in advancing and securing their sovereign data futures.

Regular communications will resume January 5, 2026.

✨Thank you for being part of this growing alliance. We wish you a restful end of the year and look forward to reconnecting in 2026. ❄️

Registration Open for Summit 2026

Coming Home: Indigenous Data Governance By Us For Us

The next U.S. Indigenous Data Sovereignty & Governance Summit is happening in Tucson, AZ, on April 15-17, 2026. Our Abstract submission window has officially closed. Attendee registration is now open! Don't forget to save the date, and register today.

Attendee Registration

Join us in furthering the movement and strengthening our impact:

As a Summit Sponsor you become a key supporter of our collective efforts to establish a national standard in the U.S. for Indigenous data governance and enhancing Indigenous Peoples’ laws, policies, and systems for our shared data futures.

Be A Sponsor

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