As this year comes to a close, it’s important to take a moment to celebrate some of the notable achievements of the Flickr Foundation and talk about what we have to look forward to in the new year. We are grateful for the support we’re received from the Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and individual donors – without this support, the Flickr Foundation wouldn’t be able to make the progress it has toward the goal of keeping Flickr pictures visible for 100 years.
A path of growth and progress
The Flickr Foundation made great strides toward their goals this year through several projects and initiatives that resulted in the development of exciting new tools, the creation of new resources and many breakthroughs!
Data Lifeboat
First up, the Flickr Foundation advanced digital preservation through the Data Lifeboat Project. According to George Oates, Flickr Foundation’s Executive Director, “Data Lifeboat represents a crucial step forward in social media preservation. It’s not just about saving image files – it’s about preserving the connections and conversations created in Flickr, keeping the social context of these pictures intact for the future.“ Learn more about these efforts on the Flickr Foundation’s site.
Flickr Foundation also introduced the new Commons Explorer. From searching the Commons, reviewing stats, locating members and engaging in Commons-related conversations –they created an easier workflow for members. With the main goal of improving collection discovery, the Commons Explorer plays an integral role for users.
Flickr Commons
The Flickr Foundation also welcomed several new Flickr Commons members onboard for the first time since 2020! This was made possible through new onboarding resources and additional technology support for member institutions, developed and managed by Flickr Foundation staff. Keep your eyes on the Flickr blog as we continue to introduce you to new Flickr Commons members over the next several months.
The team is growing
All of the exciting achievements at the Flickr Foundation this year would not have been possible without the dedication and hard work of an amazing team. Important new roles have been added to the Flickr Foundation team, including a Data Lifeboat project manager, development lead, researcher, and visual designer. The team was joined by two research fellows who explored participatory archival research and applied AI in preservation. On the horizon is the selection of their first 2025 fellows.
Your Support Makes a Difference in 2025
2024 was a great year for the Flickr Foundation and the work continues! Goals for the new year include bringing on new research fellows that support and advance the digital preservation community. The Foundation is motivated to support smaller cultural institutions who have remarkable photographic collections that would benefit from the global users of the Flickr Commons.
Your contributions power vital work to safeguard our shared photographic heritage. Your support enables the Flickr Foundation to build tools like Data Lifeboat that helps protect photographs for future generations, expands the Flickr Commons network of cultural heritage institutions, and creates innovative preservation solutions through strategic partnerships. Your support can contribute to microgrants for digitization of these collections as well as technical assistance that will help these smaller institutions join and actively participate in the Flickr Commons. Every donation directly supports our 100-year mission to keep Flickr’s remarkable photographic record – your memories, our shared history – visible and accessible for future generations.
Support the Mission
Help preserve millions of photographs that tell the story of our world. Make your tax-deductible donation today at flickr.org/donate. Or for some fun gifts and novelties, take a trip to their newly launched Flickr Foundation gift shop!
