European award for the Software Heritage initiative
06 February 2026
This initiative, which they co-founded, aims to preserve the source code of public software as a lasting cultural and scientific heritage. Software Heritage functions as a neutral, open, and not-for-profit archive that collects, organizes, and makes accessible billions of source code files from projects around the world. Its goal is to prevent the disappearance of historical software, ensure long-term access to these resources, and support transparency, reuse, and traceability of software for research, education, industry, and society at large. This recognition at the ceremony in Brussels highlights Software Heritage’s impact on open-source communities as an essential infrastructure for collective digital memory and as an inspiring example of open innovation serving the digital common good.
Photo: Roberto Di Cosmo (left) & Stefano Zacchiroli
at the European Open Source Awards
When we launched this initiative ten years ago, the fragility of free and open source software was widely underestimated.
Today, its sustainability and ultimately,its perennity are at the center of heated debates about digital sovereignty and user freedoms. With Software Heritage, we provide a fundamental building block that helps ensure one of our most precious digital public goods – software source code – remains available for generations to come.
The European Open Source Academy is an initiative dedicated to promoting, learning, and developing open source technologies in Europe. It brings together students, professionals, and enthusiasts around training courses, collaborative projects, and events that foster innovation and knowledge sharing. Its goal is to strengthen digital skills, support open source communities, and stimulate the creation of sustainable, open solutions that are accessible to all.