Angela Puggioni is Community Engagement Manager for the Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC)
Back in March, when we invited the global digital preservation community to submit nominations for the Digital Preservation Awards 2026, October felt a long way off. Now it’s just around the corner. On 15 October, we’ll celebrate the very best work in digital preservation and reveal the winners at a sparkling ceremony during the No Time to Wait 10 conference in Warsaw, Poland!
It all started with the nominations. One thing I like about the Awards is how open they are: there’s no fee to enter, and you don’t need to be a member of the Digital Preservation Coalition. Individuals, teams and organizations from around the world can put forward their work, wherever they are in their digital preservation journey.
This year, we received a record 46 nominations from 18 countries. It was exciting to see so much great work being put forward! Our DPA 2026 judging panel had the difficult task selecting just three finalists in each of the seven categories. DPC Members helped by voting online who they thought should take home the awards. After interviewing the finalists, the judges made their final choices .... which will all be revealed in Warsaw. In the meantime, I hope you’ll take some time to explore the finalists’ amazing work. There’s so much to discover beyond the names on the shortlist.
Every two years, the Awards remind me just how varied digital preservation work is. The 2026 finalists have tackled challenges through collaboration, research and innovation, teaching and communications, and the practical work of safeguarding digital materials at risk. The categories also make room for student work and for digital preservation in commerce, industry and the third sector.
There’s a new category this time around, too: Resilience, Maintenance and Continuity. I’m pleased to see the work of keeping digital preservation tools, services and systems going recognized alongside new ideas and projects. It can be less visible work, but so much depends on it.
While we’ve been preparing for this year’s ceremony, I’ve thought back to something Alejandra Ibarra Chaoul said after winning the Award for Safeguarding the Digital Legacy in 2024 for her project 'the DDLD Living Archive'. The project remembers and honors journalists killed in Mexico by preserving and studying their work. Alejandra said, “This award helps bring greater attention to that work.”
That has stayed with me. Winning a Digital Preservation Award brings a trophy, certificates and, for most categories, a £1,000 prize. The Student Work Award offers a grant to attend an international conference in 2027 instead. But being a finalist can matter as well. It gives people an opportunity to tell the story of their work, reach others in the field and make a stronger - and international - case for what they want to do next.
After months of emails, calls and preparations, I’m especially looking forward to seeing so many of the finalists together in Warsaw. Something we couldn't have done without the support of our Headline Sponsor Artefactual Systems and our generous hosts: both the NTTW conference and the Polish National Film Archive - Audiovisual Institute FINA. On the evening, we will also present the new DPC Fellow Award. Make sure to join us online via the livestream if you can't make it to Warsaw. The more, the merrier!
From those first nominations to the upcoming night in Warsaw, it has been such a gift to get to know the people and projects behind the 2026 Awards. I hope you will join us on 15 October to celebrate them!
