Tag Archives: Development

IFLA at the Second meeting of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development – Days 1 and 2 (Civil Society Meetings)

Kicking-off a full week advocating for libraries and access to information at the Second meeting of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development, IFLA’s delegation in Santiago, Chile, took active part of meetings organised by civil society at the Forum on 16-17 April.

On 17 April, local organisations representing civil society, Mesa de Articulación de Asociaciones Nacionales y Redes Regionales de ONG de América Latina y El Caribe and Asociación Chilena de Organismos No Gubernamentales (Acción Internacional), organised two side events about relevant issues related to Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) involvement in the UN 2030 Agenda and international cooperation, as well as the status of alternative reporting and their interactions with Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs).

South-south cooperation and the 2030 Agenda: challenges of civil society in LAC

Starting in the morning of 17 April, IFLA was present at the side event “South-south cooperation and the 2030 Agenda: challenges of civil society in LAC” where the situation of international cooperation in Chile and the role of CSOs in the 2030 Agenda implementation process and mechanisms was presented.  

In the afternoon, the “Training workshop on alternative reporting” was a perfect opportunity to present the Development and Access to Information (DA2I) report, a contribution from IFLA and TASCHA to the monitoring of the 2030 Agenda by measuring access to information and the libraries’ contribution to achieving sustainable development and the 17 SDGs. The event discussed shadow reporting, including an overview of challenges presented by SDG indicators, and reflections related to financing and CSOs involvement and support.Training workshop on alternative reporting

The programme of the Forum started officially on 17 April with the “Latin America and the Caribbean civil society consultation prior to the second meeting of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development” (morning and afternoon programmes).

Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) opened with a speech addressing her views on the current status of the 2030 Agenda in the region, and she stated: “Governments have stopped talking about the 2030 Agenda (…) The 2030 Agenda is a priority, a necessity. It’s the only way to battle inequality.”

Opening by Alicia Bárcena

This event was an excellent opportunity for IFLA delegates present on the first days of the Forum: Adriana Cybele Ferrari (FEBAB President, Brazil) and Maria Violeta Bertolini (IFLA), with the support of Sueli Mara Soares Pinto Ferreira (IFLA Governing Board Member/FEBAB, Brazil) to connect with other civil society organisations and ensure the need for meaningful access to information is considered throughout the event as a key element for sustainable development.

IFLA delegation at the ForumAs a few highlights: as a result of networking with fellow Brazilian civil society members, Adriana was invited to be involved in the Comissão Nacional para os Objetivos de Desenvolvimento Sustentável (CNODS) of Brazil. Moreover, the IFLA the delegation had the opportunity to connect with Rosario Diaz Garavito, founder of The Millennials Movement and one of the UN NGO Major Group Operating Partners for Latin America as well as Co Focal Point on Humanitarian Affairs for the LATAM region. This was an opportunity to identify the common interests related to empowering youth, in our case through libraries, and to discuss potential room for collaboration at a regional level.IFLA with NGO Major Group LATAM

During the Civil Society consultation, the IFLA delegation took part in the discussions where key ideas to be included in the Civil Society Declaration were presented, to form a collective declaration that will be read at the Forum before the end of this week. In addition to submitting a key idea arguing for the need to recognise access to information as a human right, and the need for informed, empowered and committed citizens to have a participatory, inclusive and democratic agenda, IFLA volunteered to be part of the Civil Society team compiling all contributions and writing the final declaration.Civil Society Declaration

In the afternoon, the proposed mechanism/modality of civil society participation in the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development was reviewed, with very engaging discussions that will shape the future of Civil Society participation in LAC regional forums.

We look forward to continuing engaging with fellow Civil Society representatives after the official opening of the Forum that takes place today!

Civil Society Meetings

Find out more about IFLA’s work on libraries and development, the Development and Access to Information (DA2I) report, and follow us during the event on Twitter (@IFLA and @IFLA_Lib4Dev, and Facebook).

Use hashtags #ForoALC2030, #ForumLAC2030, #DA2I, and #Lib4Dev to stay tuned!

Better physical places through smarter digital spaces: Day 0 of the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development

Sculpture at UN Headquarters, Geneva

UN Headquarters, Geneva

It’s begun! The UNECE Regional Forum on Sustainable Development is the first in a series of five, focusing both on delivering the 2030 Agenda at the regional level, and preparing for 2018’s High Level Political Forum.

 

It’s an opportunity for the key people involved in coordinating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) from governments across Europe to come together and discuss how they are moving forwards. And it’s a chance for civil society organisations to build contacts and influence the message they will send to New York in July. IFLA is there.

 

Sustainable Communities, Included Citizens, and Access to Information

Day 0 focused on information-sharing, and creating statements to be delivered on behalf of all civil society in front of ministers the following day.

 

For libraries, 2018 is an important year, given that SDG 11 – sustainable communities and cities – is on the agenda. This SDG is clearly a priority for many other civil society organisations too, given how many joined the group working on the relevant statement.

 

Despite the potentially different focus of the representatives there – housing, older persons, youth, open government – there were two key points of consensus.

 

Firstly that sustainable cities depend on the wellbeing and inclusion of all citizens.

 

And secondly that for these citizens to be included, information plays an essential role, both in terms of getting and using statistics that help identify who may be falling behind, and in ensuring that everyone has access to information, technology and skills.

 

A great opportunity to talk about the work of libraries in empowering all members of societies – especially the least well-off – through information! IFLA highlighted that public services – and libraries in particular – remained essential if we are to leave no-one behind, and that without their support, new digital technologies would not necessarily serve the wellbeing of all of the community.

 

We’re looking forward to talking more with delegates today and tomorrow about how libraries can make the difference.

 

Reviewing the Reviewers: Updates on 2018 Voluntary National Reports

 

Setting goals is meaningless unless there’s a way of checking on implementation. One tool for this included in the 2030 Agenda is Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs), where Member States present a report on the progress they are making in front of their peers at the High Level Political Forum. The Regional Meetings are a chance to update on progress on these.

 

The civil society event brought together a number of NGOs already engaged in the VNR process. As the name suggests, these are voluntary, meaning that governments have a lot of space to work out how they are done. This was clear in the input from these NGOs. Some countries have formal platforms, giving civil society the opportunity to share views and meet with ministers and senior officials. Others take VNRs as an opportunity to advertise themselves.

 

We’re working with IFLA members in countries which are undertaking VNRs this year to understand how far they are involved, and to offer support and advice where we can. At their best, this can be a great way to get libraries higher up the agenda, and to celebrate how our institutions are making a difference.

 

More tomorrow from the first day of the formal meeting!

Researcher Beware: Being Constructive About Open Science

A recent infographic about text and data mining used the image of, well, mining to illustrate some of the key statistics about its use today. While not so many researchers in Europe are making use of it for now, there’s a broad interest in starting, given its strong potential to accelerate innovation and new insights.

This chimes with an argument long promoted by the library sector – that we need a clear and simple copyright exception, in order to ensure that there are no legal barriers to mining something you already own or to which you have legal access.

However, the infographic does not just focus on statistics. Right at the bottom of this mine, there is some toxic waste, and talk of challenges and risks. This, combined with the mining metaphor as a whole (as a contact in Brussels has pointed out), gives the impression that TDM – arguably one of the most exciting opportunities for scientific progress, is somehow dark, dirty, and not something you would want to get involved in.

Subsequently, we have seen the rise of the Coalition for Responsible Sharing, a coalition of publishers working to cut back on the sharing of the wrong versions of academic articles through a popular platform among researchers, ResearchGate.

Setting aside questions about the risks posed to other, non-commercial sites where articles are posted and shared – a particularly relevant issue in Europe right now – the name chosen for this group is perhaps telling.

That it should be considered ‘irresponsible’ for authors to share the wrong version of their work, rather than just a mistake, again takes the step of saying that a key driver of future scientific progress – collaboration and exchange between peers – is again something risky and uncertain. That words – responsible sharing – which are more redolent of a public health campaign than of science are used is telling.

Sharing, and mining, are both highly promising avenues for the future development of science, as well as areas where libraries are actively supporting progress (while of course respecting copyright). Rather than seeking to create doubt, fear or scepticism, all should be joining together to ensure the most rapid possible progress.