Brief history of NOR
Second NOR-meeting, Kongsvold 1984. Photo: B. Åhman
NOR is a co-operative organisation for research in reindeer and reindeer husbandry, founded in 1980. The initiative was taken by Ole K. Sara, who later became director of the Norwegian Reindeer Husbandry Administration. The formation meeting was held in Uppsala, Sweden. The Norwegian veterinarian and research scientist Sven Skjenneberg, Harstad, was appointed secretary and hence the secretariat was located in Norway. Member countries were Finland, Norway and Sweden.
The first Nordic Conference on Reindeer Research was held in 1981, Hemavan, Sweden and the scientific journal Rangifer appeared in that same year. NOR’s original mandate from 1981 was changed in 1989 and 1992. Today the work is based on mandates given by the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2003 and on NOR’s goals and strategic plan. A yearly working document gives priorities for the daily wok of the secretary who is the single employee. The secretariat moved in 1994 to the city of Tromsø, which is northern Norway’s cultural and academic centre.
NOR’s logo
The logo was kindly permitted used by its originator the artist Terje Grøstad and has been NOR’s logo since 1981. It was originally designed for the International Reindeer/Caribou Symposium at Røros, Norway, in 1978.