Greenpeace International (Amsterdam) Archives

Period 1979-2004
Total size  150 m.
Consultation Restricted
Permission required by Stichting Greenpeace Council
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History

Founded in 1971 by ‘The Don’t Make a Wave Committee’, a small team of activists from Vancouver (Canada), its original aim was to focus public attention on nuclear tests in Alaska; the Committee changed its name into Greenpeace Foundation in 1972; after 1976 it broadened its programme to stem the tide of environmental destruction and set up campaigns against nuclear testing and armament, whale hunting, pollution of lakes and oceans, toxic incineration, overfishing etc.; in 1979 when Greenpeace offices in Europe and North America were set up the Greenpeace Council GI was established as a coordinating body; it coordinates the international campaigns and makes decisions on overall direction and policy; the national offices run national campaigns and contribute to international campaigns; they are represented at the Annual Council Meeting; from the middle of the 1980's GI became active all over the world; GI has its seat in Amsterdam since 1989; nowadays GI has 2.8 million supporters worldwide, and national and regional offices in 40 countries; its sphere of activity includes nature management, animal protection, and all kinds of ecological issues throughout the world; more about the history of Greenpeace in books by Rex Weyler, Frank Zelko and Bob Hunter.

Content

Minutes of the General Meeting 1979, Board 1979-2001, Executive Directors Meeting 1996-2002, Executive Committee 1986-1990, Directors Meeting 1993, Senior Management Team 1993-1998, Annual General Meetings of the Council 1979-1999, Trustees Meeting 1983, 1991, European Trustees Meeting 1988-1989, and Regional Trustees Meeting 1992-1995; correspondence of the Board 1986-1995, Executive Director 1987-2002, Council 1982-1989, and Trustees 1992-1994; annual reports 1990-2003; circulars 1995-1999; financial documents 1988-2001; documents on fundraising 1992-1997; legal documents 1987-1994; documents on communication, publicity and publications 1982-1999; correspondence with the national and regional offices 1985-2002; files on the campaigns: climate 1993-1999, the Antarctic 1994, forests 1997-1999, genetic engineering 1993-1999, nuclear power and weapons 1985-1999, Gulf 1991, oceans 1987-2002, Brent Spar 1995-1998, toxics 1983-1999, and the Amazon 1996-1998; documents on committees, working groups and units 1988-2001; files on conferences and meetings 1992; papers of Paul Gilding 1993-1994 and Thilo Bode 1990-2001.

Arrangement

Greenpeace did not have a central archive system; every department, campaign or director’s office was responsible for its own records; as much as possible the existing order was used and descriptions were based on the (sometimes) existing superscriptions or classification schemes; the inventory is divided into sections according to the organisation of Greenpeace; after a general part there are documents on the organization, national offices, campaigns and committees; during arrangement appraisal took place and the following materials were destroyed: press clippings, printed material from governmental organisations, the UN, UNESCO etc, a lot of double documents and some irrelevant administrative documents. Books, periodicals and some printed reports were transferred to the library of the IISH; photographs and videos were transferred to the sound and image department, which already had a large collection on Greenpeace. The records are not complete; records from the first years (1969-1985) are kept in the Vancouver City Archives ; large parts –e.g. from the legal and financial department- are still at the Greenpeace office in Amsterdam and other parts are in the private possession of activists; the records described are mainly from the period 1980-1995.

The arrangement was a project in which the following archivists participated: Amanda Elsinghorst, Marie-Christine Engels, Bernard Mantel, Nico Jassies en Sabine Aarts.

The project was sponsored by the Prins Bernard Cultuurfonds and the VSB-Fonds.

Processing information

Inventory published in 2007.