Why digital preservation should be on your 2026 leadership agenda going forward.

Sylvia Umana 0 Comment(s)

Every organisation, from universities to corporations and NGOs, creates memory every single day in the form of emails, reports, photos, research, and daily decisions. These digital materials tell your story and show your impact. But there is a problem: digital content is fragile. Files can get corrupted, formats can become outdated, systems can be replaced, and suddenly, years of work can disappear, sweeping along your organisation’s identity. Without active management, digital assets can become unreadable or lost, and often without anyone realising until it is too late.

This is where digital preservation comes in. It means actively protecting and managing digital information so that it remains accessible, usable, and trustworthy for years to come. It is not merely about backing up data, but rather about ensuring that your organization’s story, evidence, and knowledge survive in the rapidly changing digital world.

When leadership overlooks digital preservation, they risk losing more than data. They risk losing institutional knowledge that informs future strategy, evidence of decisions that underpin accountability, and the organisation’s heritage, its story, values, and milestones.

Therefore, digital preservation is a leadership responsibility. When leaders understand and support it, they protect the organisation’s most valuable asset: its memory. They invest in sustainable infrastructure that can adapt to new technologies, policies that guide how digital content is managed and stored, and people who understand both technology and memory management to ensure that what matters most today remains meaningful and accessible tomorrow. 

To conclude, information is the heartbeat of every organisation, and digital preservation is no longer a technical afterthought; it should be a leadership imperative. Digital preservation succeeds only when it is supported from the top. Leaders should set the tone by asking:

  • How are we protecting our digital work for the future?
  • Do we have a plan to keep our files accessible and authentic?
  • What legacy will we leave behind if our data disappears?

On this World Digital Preservation Day, let us be reminded that preserving digital assets is far more than keeping files safe; it is about protecting identity, accountability, and legacy.

Happy World Digital Preservation Day!