Representatives from a variety of backgrounds, including policy makers, legal experts, computer scientists, librarians and archivists, appealed to UNESCO’s Member States, international organizations, business leaders and civil society, to preserve, collect and share the existing software commons as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This appeal was made at an expert meeting co-organized by UNESCO and Inria on 6 and 7 November. The meeting was an important milestone in the roadmap of the vigorous partnership started in 2017 between the UNESCO and Inria on this matter.
We remember our history through objects. We see the Gutenberg Bible and recall the revolution of the printing press, we see the hand-scrawled lyrics of "Strawberry Fields Forever" and appreciate the Beatles sensation. But more and more our cultural artifacts are now digital, and they are built on top of obsolete software, websites, and operating...