Communication in the digital context is more fragile than appears. Process requires sender and receiver using compatible technologies which in turn that evolve quickly, differently and continuously.

How to maintain the ability to interpret and display in the future information that is understood today?

Prosperity and well-being for future generations are linked to granting continuous access to digital content. In this regard, Digital Preservation can be thought of as communication with the future. Thus providing reliable preservation solutions will keep the future value of today´s digital assets, while opening new opportunities for expanding their attractiveness and usefulness for next generations of beneficiaries. 

In practice, ensuring future accessibility, under stability and usability of data and information which only exists in digital format is becoming a major issue for a wide range of organisations from governmental and industrial ones to those primarily in charge of keeping the memory and accrued knowledge of Society, such as Cultural Heritage, Higher Education and Scientific Research Institutions.

To address these Digital Preservation related issues, SHAMAN aims to create a technology environment which may be used to manage the storage, access, presentation, and manipulation of potentially any digital object over time. In this sense, solutions to be developed by SHAMAN aim a wide mix of target groups to minimize negative effects but also, to seize opportunities related to securing long term access and usability of digital content.

Therefore, SHAMAN aims to contribute in mitigating losses of socially valuable digital assets and minimize costs of poor digital content management, as well as enabling productivity gains in records management, generate new value-added services by re-use of preserved content and engender new services upon DP productions process components.

SHAMAN is a Large Integrated Project co-financed by the European Union within the Seventh Framework Programme.