Vancouver, BC — The Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre (VHEC) is pleased to announce it has received $40,465 in funding from Library and Archives Canada’s Documentary Heritage Communities Program (DHCP) to support the Centre’s digital preservation initiatives.

The grant will fund the project titled “From LTO7 to LTO10: Transfer and Migration of VHEC Holocaust Testimonies and Collections Materials for Long-Term Digital Preservation.” The project is designed to strengthen VHEC’s digital preservation infrastructure by upgrading its Linear Tape-Open (LTO) storage system and migrating data from LTO 7 to LTO 10 tapes.

With support from Library and Archives Canada, the VHEC is moving hundreds of Holocaust testimonies to a more secure digital format to ensure they’re protected and accessible for future generations.

Key project activities include:

• Migrating over 200 audio-visual Holocaust testimonies for secure, long-term storage
• Transferring newly recorded testimonies—including Russian-language Holocaust survivor interviews—to LTO 10 format
• Updating digital preservation policies and workflows
• Enhancing metadata in VHEC’s internal Digital Preservation module, powered by Collective Access
• Improving the overall infrastructure to support long-term digital access

The VHEC will also collaborate with local archival institutions using similar technologies to share knowledge and promote sector-wide capacity building. As part of its community outreach, the Centre will host a user-group demonstration and publish workflow documentation to enable other organizations to replicate its preservation processes.

“This project reflects our ongoing commitment to safeguarding Holocaust survivor testimony and archival materials for future generations,” said Hannah Marazzi, Executive Director of the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre.

“With the support of Library and Archives Canada, we are ensuring that these powerful records—many of which were entrusted to us by survivors and their families—remain accessible, discoverable, and preserved with care. This is not just about technology; it’s about responsibility, remembrance, and resilience.”

About the VHEC

The Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre is a teaching museum devoted to Holocaust-based anti-racism education. Through exhibits, school programs, collections, and commemorative and educational initiatives, the VHEC promotes human rights, social justice, and genocide awareness.