The National Archives is an essential resource for our democracy, a public good and an asset for future generations. Our conviction is that archives are for everyone, and that archives change lives for the better.
In April 2019 we committed The National Archives to a transformative path, to becoming the 21st Century national archive – inclusive, entrepreneurial, and disruptive.
In the four years since, much has changed in the world, and we have changed too. We have found new ways of working, we have found new ways of reaching people and we have become still more important to the life of the nation as a source of memory, evidence, and public value.
Throughout this time of change our historic mission has endured: to collect and preserve the record, to use our expertise and knowledge to connect people with their history through our unrivalled collections, and to lead, partner and support archives at home and worldwide. Our commitment to this mission is undimmed and we continue to embrace the obligation this creates: to connect with the biggest and most diverse audience possible, in the most innovative ways we can.
Since 2019 The National Archives has withstood the sternest of tests. Staying true to the principles we set out in Archives for Everyone enabled us to adapt and meet the challenges of the pandemic, holding to our mission without sacrificing our ambition for the institution or compromising our belief that archives are for everyone because they are about everyone – past, present and future.
In 2023 we reaffirm our commitment to this vision: to the transformation of The National Archives to meet the present-day challenges of our historic mission, to a creative approach to these challenges, pioneering a new kind of cultural and heritage institution, and to making good on our unique promise and potential.