Description:
The nominee is the umbrella organisation The Norwegian Lighthouse Society (NLS). During the last 20 years NLS has raised awareness of the heritage value of lighthouses along the 103 000 km coastline of Norway. The NGO has gone from being regarded as a radical conservation idea in 1997, to engage a range of local initiatives, cooperate with The Norwegian Coastal Administration and experience a shift in the general interest and knowledge of the rich lighthouse heritage in Norway. From 1974 to 2006 all Norwegian lighthouses got automated and vacated. They started to decay rapidly. Most buildings had no longer any function and the government planned to tear them down or sell them. NLS promotes the conservation and revitalizing of our lighthouses. NLS believe in government ownership, while alternative use and public access should be managed by the local communities. 76 local organisations in support of a similar number of historic lighthouses are organised in NLS. More initiatives are in process of development.