September 29 2025
Norrbotten Museum, Ájtte and the Silver Museum are collaborating to give all primary school students in Norrbotten access to their history – regardless of where they live. With support from Sparbanken Nord of 2,5 million SEK, the Diginord project is taking a step forward to make cultural heritage accessible to all children in the county.
Through the Diginord project, a digital knowledge and learning platform is being developed that will make Norrbotten's history accessible to students throughout the county. The goal is to create equal conditions for teaching about Norrbotten's history. There are many students who have never visited a museum due to long distances, limited resources and schools' limited opportunities to travel.
– Thanks to the funding from Sparbanken Nord, we are approaching the opportunity to, for the first time ever, be able to offer all primary school students in Norrbotten knowledge and education about the county's unique history. This with the same quality and regardless of where you live. It is historical in itself, says Nils Harnesk, head of the Collections Department, Norrbotten Museum.
The platform, which has the working title “The History of Norrbotten”, will contain digitized cultural heritage such as archival documents, objects, photographs and printed works. It will also contain curated articles and lesson plans that are adapted to the curriculum. The platform will be available for both schools and the public to take part in, and open to more museums to contribute content to. – With the knowledge platform, the shared history of Norrbotten and Sápmi will be available to more people. It makes the Sami heritage and presence visible throughout time as an integral part of the county's development. In this way, understanding of our different roots and thus also the region's common future is strengthened, says Elisabeth Pirak Kuoljok, museum director, Ájtte.
– Through the project, our three museums can strengthen each other in the work of spreading knowledge about the history of northern Sweden. The museums have different focuses and together can cover large parts of our common history in Norrbotten. Together we are simply stronger, says Malin Brännström, director of the Silver Museum.
Sparbanken Nord has chosen to finance the Diginord project with 2,5 million SEK, a support that corresponds to half of the project's total budget.
– We are making this investment to give young people in Norrbotten access to a history that has too often been overshadowed by the national narrative. The new platform can highlight and spread our unique history in a way that also engages young people, and we think that is most important, says Erika Mattsson, Head of Sustainability and Society at Sparbanken Nord.
Diginord is a two-year collaborative project between Norrbotten Museum, the Silver Museum and Ájtte. The project is half financed by Sparbanken Nord (2,5 million SEK). The other half of the budget is being processed by the Swedish Inheritance Fund, a decision is expected in the autumn.