Operation Dagsvaerk was originally a Swedish concept. It was founded by Swedish high-school students in honour of the late Secretary-General of the United Nations, Dag Hammerskjöld.

Hammmerskjöld was known for his active role in conflict mediation and peacebuilding efforts as well as for speaking up for the rights of the oppressed people around the world. When he was killed in a plane crash in 1962, Swedish high-school students decided to found a day of solidarity in his honour under the motto of "Give a Day for Dag".

The idea spread to the rest of Scandinavia under the name of Operation Dagsvaerk. Today Operation Dagsvaerk also exists in countries as Italy, The Netherlands and USA.

Operation Dagsvaerk in Danmark has existed since 1985 and has evolved from an annual fundraising-event into an educational process, which
informs about and queries the challenges and living conditions in the developing countries and culminates in the Dagsvaerk Day. The executive board of Operation Dagsvaerk is the annual general assembly where representatives from all high-schools in Denmark can participate. At this meeting the board of still-studying students is elected and a new education project is chosen. The central, sustaining element in Operation Dagsvaerk is the work carried out by students in hundreds of local Dagsvaerk groups at high-schools throughout Denmark.