News

In an exciting finale to the Digital Preservation Awards 2024, organisations and practitioners of digital preservation from around the world gathered together for a glittering presentation ceremony at the iPRES 2024 conference this afternoon!

Hosted by the Digital Preservation Coalition and introduced by the Chair of Judges Roxana Maurer of the National Library of Luxembourg, the event celebrated the achievements of individuals and organisations who have made significant and innovative contributions to creating a sustainable future for our digital assets.

In a year which saw considerable geographical diversity amongst its nominations, those selected as finalists faced tough competition from entries across the world.

Speaking about the quality of applications in 2024, Roxana Maurer said: “This year, all of the finalist initiatives have been led by truly passionate individuals who have gone out of their way to progress the incredibly important work we do as a community. It is clear to see that as a result of their considerable efforts, the preservation of some unique collections will continue, and our critical digital preservation work as a community will continue to be supported and championed.”

The event began with the International Council on Archives Award for Collaboration and Cooperation which celebrates significant collaboration across institutional, professional, sectoral and geographical boundaries. This was presented to the Australian ‘Collaborative Models of Care’ project which has produced a best-practice blueprint to help non-First Nations professionals contribute their digitisation and digital preservation skills expertise towards the care of digital cultural heritage held by and produced in Australian First Nations communities.

The Research Data Alliance Award for the Most Outstanding Digital Preservation Initiative in Commerce, Industry and Third Sector was won by Barts Health NHS Trust in the UK for implementing a specialist digital archive that ensures records from clinical trials are preserved, accessible and usable for their whole retention period. The Judges were particularly impressed that this service is now being extended across other NHS Trusts.

The innovative PARADISEC project – an initiative to improve access to and sustainability of the Pacific and Regional Archive for Digital Sources in Endangered Cultures - took the highly competitive Digital Repository of Ireland Award for Research and Innovation, while the Bits and Bots Study Group devised jointly by employees of The National Archives (UK) and Dutch Nationaal Archief was presented with the Dutch Digital Heritage Network Award for Teaching and Communications. The Masters Thesis Preservation of digital records: the case of Wikimedia Mexico by Claudia Muñoz who is studying at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), took the prize for the CLOCKSS Award for Most Outstanding Student Work in Digital Preservation with the judges praising its potential impact for other Mexican NGOs.

And the critical work of the Defensores de la Democracia (DDLD) was presented with The National Archives (UK) Award for Safeguarding the Digital Legacy for their DDLD - Living Archive, which preserves and catalogues the work produced by killed journalists in Mexico.

2024 saw the return of the DPC Fellowship Award, and this was awarded to Gladys Kemboi who is a passionate advocate of digital preservation. Gladys works tirelessly to advance local and indigenous knowledge development in Kenya and across Africa, and has collaborated with leaders and partners across sectors and around the globe to build dynamic and equitable knowledge ecosystems.

Full list of 2024 Digital Preservation Award Winners:

• Winner of the International Council on Archives Award for Collaboration and Cooperation, presented by Gustavo Castaner and April Miller
  Collaborative models of care: preserving Australian First Nations digital cultural heritage 

• Winner of the Digital Repository of Ireland Award for Research and Innovation, presented by Lisa Griffith and Arif Shaon
  Improving access to and sustainability of the Pacific and Regional Archive for Digital Sources in Endangered Cultures (PARADISEC) 

• Winner of the Dutch Digital Heritage Network Award for Teaching and Communications, presented by Marjolein Steeman and Matt Burgess
  Study group Bits and Bots for building digital skills

• Winner of the CLOCKSS Award for the Most Distinguished Student Work in Digital Preservation, presented by Alicia Wise and Thomas Ledoux
  Preservación de documentos digitales: el caso de Wikimedia México / Preservation of digital records: the case of Wikimedia Mexico 

• Winner of the Research Data Alliance Award for the Most Outstanding Digital Preservation Initiative in Commerce, Industry and the Third Sector, presented by Hilary Hanahoe and Mihaiela Donisa
  NHS research records: Reducing Risk 

• Winner of The National Archives (UK) Award for Safeguarding the Digital Legacy, presented by Sonia Ranade and Jo Ana Morfin
  DDLD – living archive 

• The DPC Fellowship Award, presented by Barbara Sierman and Nathan Tallman
  Gladys Kemboi

The DPC would like to thank all sponsors for their continued support in ensuring the Digital Preservation Awards can continue to recognise and celebrate achievements in the field of digital preservation.

For a full list of finalists and for more information about the Digital Preservation Awards, visit: https://dpconline.org/events/digital-preservation-awards

Watch the exciting finale to the Digital Preservation Awards 2024 on the livestream today, as organisations and practitioners of digital preservation from around the world gather in Ghent, as part of the iPRES 2024 program, to discover the winners!

Hosted by the Digital Preservation Coalition and introduced by the Chair of Judges Roxana Maurer of the National Library of Luxembourg, the event will recognize, highlight and celebrate the achievements of individuals and organisations who have made significant and innovative contributions to creating a sustainable future for our digital assets.

Before the ceremony, be sure to watch all of the finalists’ videos!

And catch the Livestream at 1500 UTC / 1700 CET, Monday 16^th September ... see you there!

The DPC is delighted to share an upcoming development opportunity with members. The National Archives is currently looking for volunteer mentors for its digital peer mentor programme. The mentor program is a great way to connect with and support a mentee for a six month digital project, with mentor support throughout the programme, and we encourage DPC members to participate. More information is provided below.