Participated in a Millennium Project
I haven’t logged into Github for a long time, and I found an Arctic Code Vault Contributor badge in the lower right corner. It turns out that the projects I contributed to in 2020 were put into the GitHub Archive Program.
The Github Archive Program aims to preserve open source software for future generations. Github believes that the world is driven by open source software, which is the invisible cornerstone of modern civilization and the common property of all mankind. Github stores code snapshots in the form of QR codes on film with a lifespan of 1,000 years, and then stores the film in the GitHub Arctic Code Vault in a decommissioned coal mine deep in the Arctic mountains of Svalbard, Norway.
Svalbard is protected by the international Svalbard Treaty and is a demilitarized zone. It is the northernmost town in the world and one of the most remote and geopolitically stable human settlements on earth.
AWA (Arctic World Archive) is a joint initiative between the Norwegian state-owned mining company Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani (SNSK) and the long-term digital storage provider Piql AS. AWA is dedicated to the permanent preservation of archives. The film reels are stored in steel-walled containers inside a sealed chamber within a decommissioned coal mine in the remote archipelago of Svalbard. AWA has preserved historical and cultural data from Italy, Brazil, Norway, the Vatican, and many other countries.
Although Svalbard is affected by climate change, in the foreseeable future, only the outermost few meters of permafrost may be affected, and the warehouse will not be substantially harmed. The mine is close to the famous Global Seed Vault (just a mile away), which further enhances Svalbard’s status as a long-term stable archive of human collective knowledge.
Github’s first archive was on February 2, 2020, and the code will be updated every five years thereafter. To better protect the code, Github also donated the code film to the Bodleian Library, the Library of Alexandria, and the Stanford Library.
One thousand years ago in China, it was the fourth year of Tianxi of Song Zhenzong. In this year, Fan Zhongyan was 31 years old, Bao Zheng was 21 years old, Ouyang Xiu was 13 years old, Di Qing was 12 years old, Su Xun was 11 years old, Shao Yong was 9 years old, Cai Xiang was 8 years old, Zhou Dunyi was 3 years old, Sima Guang was 1 year old, and Zeng Gong was 1 year old. Time is so long…
Published at: Apr 25, 2021 · Modified at: Dec 12, 2025
