Data literacy from the very beginning! With this dictum, we firstly emphasize the importance of education in data literacy of all stakeholders in research and university teaching. Secondly, our paradigm reveals the path to sustainability of research data management (RDM). With "data literacy from the very beginning" we contribute to the advancement of scientific methods and good scientific practice: Education in data literacy enables improved formal quality of "data" as a modern resource to a degree where it can be used for both new insights and sustainable solutions to societal challenges. This is achieved by means of transparency and traceability for all stakeholders in an open or also protected data space.