The Archives’ Day in the Nordic countries

Archives Day has been an annual event since it began in Sweden in 1998 and in Denmark, with breaks, since 1999. 2001 was the first year in which the archives had a common theme, “Love of…”, in Iceland, Sweden and Denmark and some places in Norway. In addition, this common web-site was set up: www.arkivdag.nu which functions as a sort of Scandinavian approach to the events.

In 2002 Finland also celebrated Archives Day. This year no common theme was selected. All the Nordic countries have chosen to follow Sweden’s lead, so the day is always celebrated on the second Saturday in November.

The participating archives cut across the boundaries between national archives, city archives, local archives and theme-based archives. This means that archives of vastly different size and scope take part. The day helps to strengthen the co-operation between the various types of archives both nationally and within the Nordic countries. The events in the various countries help to focus attention on the archives as a cultural and democratic resource within the public domain. Archives Day has also attracted new, curious visitors – visitors who do not belong to the typical segment of archive users.

In 2003 the archives in Norway, Sweden and Denmark planned Archives Day with themes revolving around the body – health, illness and disease, and sport.