Software Heritage revolutionary infrastructure for our digital future (10th anniversary)

To mark the 10th anniversary of Software Heritage, UNESCO and Software Heritage co-hosted the 2026 Symposium on January 28, 2026. This event recognized software source code as a universal component of the knowledge commons and organized collective action for its long-term preservation and inclusive reuse. Software Heritage has built a neutral, heritage-grade archive of global source code and advanced persistent, verifiable identifiers that anchor provenance, integrity, and citation. UNESCO complements this with a mandate to articulate shared principles, mobilize partnerships and build capacities for openness, connecting the Open Solutions portfolio with the UNESCO 2021 Recommendation on Open Science, 2019 Recommendation on Open Educational Resources, and the 2015 Recommendation concerning the Preservation of, and Access Documentary Heritage including in Digital Form as well as the UNESCO ROAM-X indicators that operationalize rights, openness, accessibility and multistakeholder participation. The 2026 edition served as a moment to take stock of progress achieved over the past decade and to translate the lessons learned into an agenda for 2026–2030. It brought together partners from across research, education, culture, the private sector, and public administration to consolidate a shared vision in which software preservation, citation, and reuse are integral to knowledge creation and dissemination.