FIAT/IFTA World Conference 2025

Over the past 10 to 15 years, the field of digital preservation has expanded significantly, bringing with it a growing need for certification of trusted digital repositories. The OAIS model (ISO 14721) has become a foundational standard, leading to certification frameworks such as Trusted Digital Repository (ISO 16363), Germany’s DIN 31646, and the CoreTrustSeal (CTS, NL), formerly known as the Data Seal of Approval (DSA). A few audiovisual archives – such as Sound and Vision (NL) and NCAA (India) – have already completed certification, and others, like meemoo (BE), are in progress. Notably, no archive managed directly by a broadcaster has yet achieved such certification.

Article 33 of the Swiss Ordinance on Public Broadcasting mandates that “archiving is carried out […] according to recognised professional standards.” In response, RSI (the public broadcaster of Italian-speaking Switzerland) has launched a self-audit based on the Flemish-Dutch ScoreModel for Digital Sustainability, which is aligned with CTS criteria. The goal is to eventually undergo a full audit and, if feasible, obtain certification.

This process, however, has highlighted several challenges: current standards are not designed with broadcast archives in mind. Even within the audiovisual field, applying certain criteria requires contextual interpretation and adaptation.

This presentation outlines RSI’s journey from initial motivation to current status, reflecting on the common difficulties in interpreting and meeting certification standards. It also advocates for developing a tailored standard that supports – rather than limits – the long-term digital sustainability of in-house broadcaster archives, reflecting their specific realities and operational contexts.