As early as 1991, work began on establishing a county cooperation for a joint system for vocational training. In 1996, an operating organization was established and in 1997 the VIGO system was developed as a joint intake system for upper secondary education.
In the years that followed, the VIGO system was further developed, and in 2012 the collaboration was formally established as an inter-municipal company. Vigo IKS was chosen as a spelling to distinguish the company from the VIGO system. The counties gradually saw a need for cooperation in new areas of expertise, and as a result, a new company agreement was adopted in 2021, allowing Vigo IKS to take on new responsibilities in several areas. In 2022, Transport became a new area of responsibility. The company agreement also allows for other areas to be included if the owners approve this.
At this point, the question of a name change arose as the name Vigo IKS is strongly associated with upper secondary education. In 2023, it was therefore decided that the company should change its name.
A naming competition was held in the spring of 2023, in which all counties, the company's board of directors and supervisory board, and the company's employees were invited to participate. Novari IKS was ultimately chosen as the new name of the company after an advisory vote.
Novari (Latin) means "to be new" and is derived from "novare" which means to innovate, renew, be in change and process. Novari can also be associated with "something lasting", i.e. "something that lasts".
We are still an inter-municipal company owned by all the county authorities and the City of Oslo.
The name change applies from January 1, 2024, when we introduce a temporary logo and appear as Novari. Formally, the name will be changed when all decisions from our owners are in place. (Until then, we are formally still Vigo IKS (i.e. in terms of invoicing, org no. etc.).
Work on a new graphic profile is underway and the new logo will be in place by summer 2024. In the meantime, the company will use a simple temporary logo.
We can't wait until our new graphic profile is in place and look forward to a continued good and exciting collaboration with our owners and clients in 2024!