The “Save the Games: A Digital Preservation Symposium” was held on August 21-22, 2024, at The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York. This two-day event brought together over 200 attendees, highlighting the importance of digital preservation in the gaming community.
Using a dissemination grant, GRADE member Kieran Nolan made a presentation titled “An Introduction to Grassroots of Digital Europe: From Historic to Contemporary Cultures of Creative Computing (GRADE)” at the beginning of the first day in track two of the conference. The 30-minute talk, which included a Q&A session, provided an in-depth overview of the GRADE project, outlining its aims and objectives. The presentation also summarized activities from the three working groups, discussed the 2023 Mataro Digital Preservation Training School, and highlighted the upcoming 2024 Dundalk Conference. Additionally, it offered information on how to connect with the COST action from outside Europe and shared various online resources and contact details.
The presentation was well-received by an international audience, including members of the management team from The Strong National Museum of Play. Attendees expressed enthusiasm for the scale and effort behind the GRADE COST Action, demonstrating a strong interest in networking and knowledge exchange.
The symposium provided an excellent platform for making new connections, including:
– The Strong National Museum of Play, Rochester, NY
– Video Game History Museum, Zagreb, Croatia
– The Internet Archive
– University of Toronto
– RIT College of Art and Design, Rochester
– Ritsumeikan University
– Museum of Art and Digital Entertainment, Oakland
– Home Ludens Archive, China