International collaboration on digital archiving

Nordic Archive Days

Every three years, the Nordic national archives come together for a major professional event, with hosting duties rotating among the participating nations.

NorDig Conference

The Nordic countries maintain a collaborative effort in IT and archive development known as NorDig. Archives from these countries convene every third year.

Collaboration to Clarify the Costs of Curation (4C)

Over the past decade, the costs associated with digital preservation have garnered increasing attention. The 4C project, active in 2013 and 2014, aimed to illuminate this area and help organizations invest more effectively in digital preservation. The project concluded in January 2015, with its findings available on The Curation Cost Exchange website. This platform offers among other things a tool for analyzing and visualizing organizational costs related to digital preservation. A consortium including the Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC), Nestor, and KEEP Solutions now manages the Curation Cost Exchange and maintains the network established during the project, ensuring the continuation of the work.

Read more on The Curation Cost Exchange or the 4C-project’s website.

DLM Forum

The Danish National Archives participates in the DLM-Forum, an EU-based collaboration focusing on digital archives. Standing for Document Lifecycle Management, the DLM-Forum serves as a meeting ground for archives and suppliers to discuss digital management challenges, particularly in electronic document management and archiving. Recent years have seen the forum concentrate on developing MoReq2010, a common European standard for Records Management. The forum holds biannual member meetings and a major conference every three years, with the most recent occurring in 2014.

European Archival Records and Knowledge Preservation (E-ARK)

E-ARK is a European initiative developing common standards and open-source tools for digital archiving across Europe. This project aims to standardize digital archiving practices, which currently vary between countries, through unified formats and shared tools. By promoting collaboration and facilitating cross-border data use, E-ARK benefits both citizens and researchers. For European archives, these common standards and tools promise more efficient and cost-effective operations. E-ARK is a collaborative effort involving 16 European partners, including national archives, digitization authorities, research institutions, member organizations, and private companies.

Read more about E-Ark and the results so far on the project’s website or follow the project on Twitter: @EARKproject or using the hashtag #eark.

International Council on Archives (ICA)

The ICA is an international NGO dedicated to fostering cooperation among archives and archivists worldwide. Established in 1948, membership is open to national and international organizations, professional groups, and individuals. As of January 2015, approximately 1,400 organizations from 199 countries and regions were members. The ICA’s mission is to promote the preservation, development, and use of the world’s archival heritage.

Open Preservation Foundation

The Danish National Archives is a member of the Open Preservation Foundation, an organization that develops and shares practical solutions for digital preservation. The foundation continues to build upon the achievements of the EU-funded Planets project, among other initiatives.