Svalbard, the remote archipelago in the Arctic Circle, was the site of a momentous event when the Arctic World Archive (AWA) hosted a ceremony on 29 June 2023 to celebrate its ongoing mission to preserve human history for future generations.

Representatives from various countries and organisations were invited to contribute their own symbolic deposits, demonstrating the global cooperation and shared responsibility for preserving the world’s history and culture.

Below is a snapshot of the deposits that have been made (read more about each deposit on the Collection page!):

The European Space Agency (ESA), Italy

ESA is a joint organisation of 22 countries with the exploration of the Earth as its main objective. The European Space Agency (ESA) made a second deposit after the one in 2019, with sample data acquired by ESA’s European Remote Sensing (ERS), Envisat and GOCE Earth Observation satellites, together with a detailed description of the missions’ objectives and achievements.

The Judicial Branch of the State of Mexico

The Judicial Branch of the State of Mexico protects and preserves the memory of the decisions made by judges and magistrates. The information is contained in 492 files and 18,309 images covering the period from 1583 to 1994.

Utah Valley University, USA

The Louisiana Music Halls Project is a collaboration between the NCPTT, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and Utah Valley University. It aims to digitally preserve the rich history and culture of Cajun and Creole music in the United States. The AWA repository will contain the stories, music and a visual experience of two famous music halls in LaFayette, Louisiana - Hamilton’s Place and La Poussiere.

University of Hong Kong

Since 2019, the Big Data Studies Lab (BDSL) at the University of Hong Kong has been conducting experimental research that rethinks the role of the humanities in the zettabyte era. In June 2023, the BDSL made a symbolic deposit at the Arctic World Archive (AWA) as part of the Archives of the Future research focus on bit permanence and how digital historians can and should respond to the impending digital dark age.

Mediha Didem Türemen, Turkey

Mediha Didem Türemen is a Turkish producer, contemporary artist, photographer, actress and filmmaker based in Istanbul. The deposit includes the creation and printing stage photographs of an engraving work of her “Homage to Albrecht Dürer” and its information in the museum, Albertina.

The Mizter Rad Show, Germany

The Mizter Rad Show is a podcast that discusses the future of humanity with the world’s most interesting personalities. Mizter Rad himself has personally recorded the first 20 episodes of The Mizter Rad Show, a futuristic podcast that explores the future of humanity and the impact of cutting-edge ideas.

Christian Clauwer, Belgium

Christian Clauwer is a photographer, explorer, lecturer and writer. His work covers the world’s oceans and polar regions.

His deposit includes data from two projects:

• The visual documentation of affected island communities in the “Seawalls & Mangrove Trees in the Pacific Region” project.
• And basic oceanographic data collected by the R/V BELGICA, the Belgian research vessel equipped with high-tech equipment.

The AWA team is delighted with the trust placed in them by the new contributors.