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<b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#444444">International Accord</span></b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#444444"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#444444">Collectively we aspire to strengthen and enhance the distributed, community-based open access infrastructure around the world.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:15.0pt;background:white">
<span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#444444">Moreover, we acknowledge that strong relationships between regional and national repository networks are important, and that there are significant benefits of working together:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:15.0pt;text-indent:-.25in;line-height:15.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;background:white">
<![if !supportLists]><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Wingdings;color:#444444"><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><img width="11" height="11" src="PicExportError" alt="*"><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> 
</span></span></span><![endif]><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#444444">The development of value added services on top of global repositories requires the widespread, international adoption of common, open APIs and metadata
 standards.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:15.0pt;text-indent:-.25in;line-height:15.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;background:white">
<![if !supportLists]><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Wingdings;color:#444444"><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><img width="11" height="11" src="PicExportError" alt="*"><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> 
</span></span></span><![endif]><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#444444">Concentrating efforts at the regional and national level will ensure responsiveness to local needs and contexts, and prevents overlaps and cost redundancies.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:15.0pt;text-indent:-.25in;line-height:15.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;background:white">
<![if !supportLists]><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Wingdings;color:#444444"><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><img width="11" height="11" src="PicExportError" alt="*"><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> 
</span></span></span><![endif]><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#444444">Sharing metadata across regions ensures comprehensive, global data coverage.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#444444">To further our collective vision, we agree to collaborate in the following areas:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:15.0pt;text-indent:-.25in;line-height:15.0pt;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2;background:white">
<![if !supportLists]><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Wingdings;color:#444444"><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><img width="11" height="11" src="PicExportError" alt="*"><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> 
</span></span></span><![endif]><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#444444">Regular communications: Facilitated by COAR, we will communicate regularly to exchange information, network with each other, and identify areas for potential
 collaboration. At least one in-person meeting will be organized annually to enable technical and strategic discussions.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:15.0pt;text-indent:-.25in;line-height:15.0pt;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2;background:white">
<![if !supportLists]><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Wingdings;color:#444444"><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><img width="11" height="11" src="PicExportError" alt="*"><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> 
</span></span></span><![endif]><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#444444">Common APIs, standards, and protocols: Developing global services will involve the widespread interoperability and integration across data providers,
 and between data providers and network services. We will work together to define standards, APIs and<br>
protocols that will support a wide range of network services.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:15.0pt;text-indent:-.25in;line-height:15.0pt;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2;background:white">
<![if !supportLists]><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Wingdings;color:#444444"><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><img width="11" height="11" src="PicExportError" alt="*"><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> 
</span></span></span><![endif]><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#444444">Technology transfer and co-development of technologies: Similar services and technologies are being envisioned and deployed by many networks. Instead
 of each region<br>
working in silos, we will look for opportunities to transfer technologies and co-develop<br>
software, where appropriate.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#444444">Signatories</span></b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#444444"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#444444">Australia                         Australasian Open Access Strategy Group<br>
Canada                          Canadian Association of Research Libraries<br>
China                             Confederation of Chinese Academic Institutional Repository and National Science Library, CAS<br>
Europe                           OpenAIRE<br>
Japan                             Japan Consortium for Open Access Repository<br>
Latin America                 LA Referencia*<br>
South Africa                   National Research Foundation<br>
United States                 Association of Research Libraries† and Center for Open Science<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;color:#2E75B6;mso-style-textfill-fill-color:#2E75B6;mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha:100.0%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;color:#2E75B6;mso-style-textfill-fill-color:#2E75B6;mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha:100.0%">https://www.coar-repositories.org/files/2017-Aligning-Repository-Networks-Accord.pdf<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<td><font size="1" nowrap="NOWRAP"><font face="Arial">Meiring Naude Road</font><br>
<font size="1" nowrap="NOWRAP"><font face="Arial">Brummeria</font><br>
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<td style="WIDTH: 100%" width="100%"><font size="1" face="Arial"><strong>Lazarus Matizirofa</strong><br>
<font size="1" face="Arial">Acting Executive Director</font><br>
<font size="1"><font size="1" face="Arial">Knowledge Management Corporate (KMC)</font></font><font size="1"><font size="1"><font size="1"><font face="Arial"><font size="1" face="Arial"><br>
Tel: +27 12 481 4016</font></font></font></font></font><font size="1"><font size="1"><font size="1"><font face="Arial"><font size="1" face="Arial"><font face="Arial"><font size="1" face="Arial"><br>
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