PARADISEC

PARADISEC, an acronym for Pacific And Regional Archive for Digital Sources in Conservation, is a digital archive and program hosted by the University of Sydney, Australia. It collects, preserves, and provides access to endangered audio recordings and other language documentation from the Pacific region and adjacent areas, supporting linguistic research, language preservation, and community work.

The collection includes audio and video recordings, transcripts, translations, field notes, dictionaries, and related documentation. Materials focus on languages that are endangered or under-documented, spanning Australia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. PARADISEC emphasizes long-term preservation, careful metadata, and provisions for future access and reuse.

Access is provided through an online catalog on the PARADISEC portal. Depending on rights, recordings may be streamed or downloaded. Access typically requires user registration and adherence to usage policies that protect speaker consent, community ownership, and licensing terms. The archive also supplies documentation to aid researchers in proper citation and interpretation.

Ethical guidelines govern how materials are collected, stored, and shared. PARADISEC prioritizes informed consent, data sovereignty, and benefit-sharing, and it works with language communities and partner institutions to determine access restrictions and terms of reuse. These policies aim to balance scholarly access with community rights and interests.

Serving linguists, educators, and language communities, PARADISEC is a key resource for documentation, description, and revitalization projects. It supports training and capacity-building in archival practice and language documentation, and it collaborates with universities, researchers, and communities to enhance preservation of Pacific linguistic heritage.