Stay up to date with our latest developments, initiatives, and new resources!
Stockholm+50 is a key international environmental meeting coming up on 2-3 June with the theme: “Stockholm+50: a healthy planet for the prosperity of all – our responsibility, our opportunity”.
The European Cultural Foundation has just launched an open call for the Europe Challenge 2022, after finishing the pilot edition with a small group of libraries, who went through a year-long programme and helped to co-design the scheme, along with the partners Demsoc, Public Libraries 2030 and OBA (Amsterdam Public libraries). We interviewed the Europe Challenge team, Nicola Mullenger and Olga Alexeeva. If you're interested to know more about how you can join and be part of a Europe-wide citizen-led change, working with your communities, read on: Deadline to apply 27 May 2022.
In its role as a member of the World Book Capital (WBC) Advisory Committee, IFLA was invited to participate in a meeting of the WBC Network, held in Tbilisi, Georgia. The meeting provided an opportunity to shape core documentation, and highlight the need for future activities to include libraries and library goals, as well as to meet with IFLA Members locally.
In times of hardship, individuals turn to one another to overcome, to recover, and to rebuild. The places where communities meet, where they can access services, and come together to support one another are therefore important for building community resilience.
In September, ministers and other key cultural policy decision-makers will meet in Mexico City for MONDIACULT 2022 to discuss how they can better promote sustainable development. The Culture 2030 Goal campaign, of which IFLA is a member, has released a statement in preparation for this.
For the library profession, the importance of sharing information, serving their communities, and cooperating with colleagues from around the world are not minimised in times of crisis – they are strengthened.
IFLA's recent ResiliArt x Mondiacult event added a library perspective to a worldwide discussion on culture's role in tackling global challenges. The outcomes of this event will help inform the agenda of the upcoming UNESCO World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development, Mondiacult 2022.
IFLA welcomed the UN Special Rapporteur in the field of Cultural Rights Alexandra Xanthaki as she addressed the Human Rights Council for the first time during their 49th Session. An IFLA representative sat down with the Special Rapporteur following her address to discuss priorities for the coming years and highlight the ways in which libraries work to uphold cultural rights for their communities.
The National Library of Lebanon, together with libraries, museums, heritage sites, and buildings throughout Beirut, sustained heavy damage caused by the explosion at the port of Beirut in August 2020.
ResiliArt x Mondiacult is coming to IFLA! Take part in this exploration of how libraries help enable the discovery, creation, and enjoyment of diverse expressions of culture to be a part of everyday life.
UNESCO has published the call for cities interested in holding the title of World Book Capital 2024. The successful candidate will have a great opportunity to develop and showcase initiatives that promote reading and books, benefitting their own citizens, and offering inspiration to others elsewhere.
The 15th session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions will be held online from 8 to 11 February 2022.
The UNESCO Online Consultation on Cultural Policies for the Africa Region was held on 31 January and 1 February, hosted by the Republic of Senegal. IFLA was represented, making the case for libraries to be involved, from the design to the delivery of cultural policies and strategies.
In September 2022, UNESCO will convene the World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development – Mondiacult 2022, hosted in Mexico City. IFLA will help bring the voices of the library and information profession to these discussions is through an upcoming virtual event: ResiliArt x Mondiacult – Libraries enabling inclusive and meaningful access to culture.
On the International Day of Education (24 January), the UN calls for transformation – a reimagining of the world’s education systems to realise the fundamental right to education for all and build a more inclusive, peaceful, and sustainable future.
As the global voice of libraries, IFLA strives to bring a library perspective to discussions and processes relating to international cultural policy. 2022 presents important opportunities to bring library voices to the table and highlight libraries as stakeholders in the culture sector.
A new Culture2030Goal Campaign report explores how effectively local and regional governments are placing culture at the heart - and even the start - of their efforts to deliver on the United Nations 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals.
UNESCO’s 41st General Conference has ended. This biennial meeting brings together representatives of the Member States, alongside observers from non-Member States, intergovernmental organisations, and non-governmental organisations, to determine the policies and the main lines of work of UNESCO.
IFLA was proud to join the Climate Heritage Network in a series of events that brought the voices of cultural heritage and cultural institutions to the table – highlighting the sector’s critical role in powering climate action.
The theme for this year’s World Digital Preservation Day (4 November) is: ’Breaking Down Barriers’.