Tag Archives: sustainable development

Count Libraries In! Transcript of the COP27 Presentation by Dr. Heba Mohamed Ismail (IFLA Regional Division Committee for MENA)

Between 6-18 November, roughly 35,000 people are coming together in Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt, for the 2022 UN Climate Change Conference (COP27). IFLA sent a delegation to take part in the first week of the conference which included Dr Marwa El Sahn and Dr Heba Mohamed Ismail, both members of IFLA’s Regional Division for the Middle East and North Africa Committee, as well as Claire McGuire, IFLA Policy and Research Officer. They joined colleagues from the Climate Heritage Network in bringing the voices of culture, heritage, and the arts to COP27.

Below is the transcript of the presentation given by Heba Mohamed Ismail during two events focussing on Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE), or the critical role that enabling all members of society to engage in climate action plays in facing the climate crisis. Heba’s presentation shed light on how libraries in Egypt are already carrying out work that touches on all six elements of ACE: climate change education and public awareness, training, public participation, public access to information, and international cooperation on these issues.

Count Libraries In!

Dr. Heba Mohamed Ismail

IFLA MENA RDC member, IFLA CPDWL SC member, Vice President of Arab Federation for Libraries and Information, Libraries Technical Manager, Egypt’s Society for Culture and Development (ESCD)

Over the past years, libraries across the world have paused to reflect and recommit to a better climate future.

Libraries are institutions in which to turn this commitment into action, as public spaces, as well as champions for access to information and lifelong learning, libraries are well placed within their communities to be hubs and to have a role in Action for climate empowerment.

In this presentation, I will explore examples of what public libraries in Egypt are already doing, and how they have supported the six elements of Action for climate empowerment through their activities

1. Education

Children participate in workshop

 

Bibliotheca Alexandrina, in cooperation with Senghor University target francophone students and those who are studying French as a second language. Focusing on arts and games, two workshops were conducting and are tailored to increase the students’ environmental awareness; the understanding of changes in the climate; its impact on the quality of life in general, and our role as active members of society towards environmental issues.

2. Public awareness

These programmes feature activities and events dedicated to raise public awareness and inspiring action

Egypt’s Society for Culture and Development (ESCD) in cooperation with the Greater Cairo Water Company (GCWC)
ESCD is non-profit organization that supervise children and Public libraries in 4 governorates in Egypt

  • Organizing awareness programs
  • Educating young people about environmental issues (optimal use of drinking water and reducing its surplus)
  • Organizing regular workshops

Egypt’s Society for Culture and Development (ESCD) in cooperation with the Holding Company for Water and Wastewater

  • Organize a series of workshops
  • Offer visual shows, educational competitions through games and a puppet theater

Bibliotheca Alexandria in cooperation with Greater Cairo Public Library; the Climate Specific Federation, the Federation of Civil Associations and Institutions for Climate, the Egyptian Library Association host a World Environment Day Seminar.

The seminar tackles climate changes, their impact on agriculture and livestock production, and the means to address them. It also discusses the methods of rationalizing water consumption, and examines the role of artificial intelligence and civil society organizations in addressing climate changes, with the aim of achieving the goals of sustainable development and Egypt’s vision 2030.

Misr Public Library System (MPL) in cooperation with the Faculty of Early Childhood Education, Cairo University, which is concerned with educating ordinary children and people with special needs, launched an initiative entitled “Towards a promising environmentally friendly childhood.” The initiative includes several activities and events:

  1. workshops conducted by teachers with ordinary children and people with special needs on origami, paper crafts and recycling.
  2. The second event: held in cooperation with Rotary Egypt, they carry out agricultural activities.
  3. The third event: includes a variety of activities that the teachers carry out with the children, such as the puppet theater and Montessori activities on rationalizing the consumption of energy, water and electricity, preserving the environment from pollution, and making signs and posters that encourage concern for the environment.

3. Training

Different training were provided to librarians and to students on environmental issues and activities.

4. Public participation

The Bibliotheca Alexandrina witnessed the launching of the volunteer program of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), Dr. Nevine El-Kabbaj, Minister of Social Solidarity, addressed the volunteers via video conference during their gathering at the Library. and discussed the Ministry’s efforts in preparing around 1300 volunteers to organize the Climate Change Conference.

Let’s be green: Maadi Public Library

One of ESCD’s libraries- in Cooperation with the U.S Embassy in Cairo conducted environmental activities within the framework of projects for ages from 14 to 18 years, where each team works on a project that represents one of the environmental issues, including:
Air pollution and climate change; deforestation; ozone layer depletion; water pollution; radioactive contamination and trying to find solutions for these activities.

“Alexandria Climathon for Youth” at the BA

The BA Sustainable Development Studies, Youth Capacity Building, and African Relations Support Program organized “Alexandria Climathon for Youth” competition. “Climathon” is an international competition held in several countries around the world through EIT Climate-KIC, which aims at raising the awareness of urban residents about climate changes. The competition is an opportunity for young people to participate in developing ideas that address local climate challenges. The activities of “Climathon” are held internationally on the same date in hundreds of cities, and are supported by local organizers.
This year’s competition was held in several cities across Egypt, as part of the preparations for the United Nations (COP27). Competitors should make suggestions and propose creative solutions that can help alleviate the consequences of climate change in Alexandria.

5. Access to information:

Establishing green corners in public libraries in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment helps transform the library’s space into a greener and more accessible place for children and encourage students to participate in activities, which grow knowledge of social responsibility and Promote public access to information on climate change and its effects.

6. International cooperation

Bibliotheca Alexandrina, in cooperation with Senghor University organized an interactive conference (via Zoom) entitled “Yes to Green: Your Right to a Sustainable Future”.

The conference addressed the role of formal and non-formal education in promoting literacy on climate change, as well as the theme of green libraries as a new trend in the world of libraries and information. It will also tackle the projects that have been classified by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) as green projects set up in African libraries in Senegal and Kenya.

Additionally, the conference highlighted some of the environmental disasters facing the African continent, together with the role of NGOs and universities in promoting awareness of environmental sustainability. It examined a number of proposed green solutions to address environmental change.

Finally, as climate change is a human-caused problem, human-centred solutions will be key to its successful mitigation. Empowering our communities to develop, participate in, learn about, and embrace these solutions is a powerful way for libraries to enable and drive change.

So count Culture in, Count libraries in, and ACT NOW!

The Mission of the Public Library Today: Exploring what’s new in the Public Library Manifesto

The forthcoming update to the IFLA-UNESCO Public Library Manifesto re-examines the role of the public library – expanding on previous versions to more thoroughly reflect the ways libraries serve their communities today.

This update was informed by a global survey, as well as ongoing consultations with UNESCO’s Information For All Programme

UNESCO has been facilitating critical input from its member states represented on the IFAP Bureau. Upon completion of this process, the updated Manifesto will be ready for action as a cornerstone of library advocacy.

Key concepts that have been added to this updated version include:

Sustainable Development

As publicly accessible spaces for the exchange of information, the sharing of culture, and the promotion of civic engagement, libraries should be considered essential agents for sustainable development.

The updated Manifesto upholds that, through their activities relating to information, literacy, education, and culture, libraries contribute to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and the construction of more equitable, humane, and sustainable societies.

This is especially pertinent when concerning the public library’s role in ensuring inclusion, access, and cultural participation for marginalised communities, Indigenous peoples, and users with special needs.

Libraries in Knowledge Societies

The ways in which people access and use information have evolved. The updated Manifesto reflects the public library’s role in enabling knowledge societies through helping all members of society access, produce, create, and share knowledge.

This includes an increased focus on remote and digital access to information and materials, as well as access to the competencies and connectivity required to bridge the digital divide.

The previous version upholds the public library as a local gateway to knowledge, providing a basic condition for lifelong learning, independent decision-making and cultural development of the individual and social groups.

The update expands on this, adding that libraries underpin healthy knowledge societies through providing access to and enabling the creation and sharing of knowledge of all sorts, including scientific and local knowledge without commercial, technological or legal barriers.

It further states that, in the digital era, copyright and intellectual property legislation must ensure public libraries the same capacity to procure and give access to digital content on reasonable terms as is the case with physical resources.

 

The Evolving Mission of Public Libraries Today

Below you will find an overview of key concepts that have been expanded on in the updated Manifesto.

 

Previous Versions

The Update
Stimulating the imagination and creativity of children and young people. Providing opportunities for personal creative development, and stimulating imagination, creativity, curiosity, and empathy

 
creating and strengthening reading habits in children from an early age; Creating and strengthening reading habits in children from birth to adulthood

 
Access to information and material Providing services to their communities both in-person and remotely through digital technologies allowing access to information, collections, and programmes

 
Awareness of cultural heritage, appreciation of the arts, scientific achievements preservation of and access to cultural expressions and heritage, appreciation of the arts, scientific achievements, research and innovations, as expressed in traditional media, as well as digital material

 
Ensuring access for citizens to all sorts of community information Ensuring access for all people to all sorts of community information and opportunities for community organising, in recognition of the library’s role at the core of the social fabric

 
Ensuring inclusivity, especially relating to marginalised communities Preservation of, and access to, local and Indigenous data, knowledge, and heritage (including oral tradition), providing an environment in which the local community can take an active role in identifying materials to be captured, preserved and shared, in accordance with the community’s wishes.
Awareness of scientific achievements

 

 providing communities with access to scientific knowledge, such as research results and health information that can impact the lives of their users, as well as enabling participation in scientific progress.

 
Facilitating the development of information and computer literacy skills

 

initiating, supporting and participating in literacy activities and programmes to build reading and writing skills, and facilitating the development of media and information literacy and digital literacy skills for all people at all ages, in the spirit of equipping an informed, democratic society;

 

The 10-Minute International Librarian #96: Explain how you drive transformation

The United Nations’ High-Level Political Forum is meeting this week in New York. One of the words on everyone’s lips is ‘transformation’.

Given the huge progress still needed in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, this isn’t a surprise. We need to do things very differently in order to avoid falling short.

The alternatives – business as usual or only incremental improvements – aren’t enough.

And so ministers, officials and experts are focused on identifying opportunities and sharing ideas on new approaches that will have a radical positive impact.

Of course, information – and so libraries – can be transformative, given its potential to improve decision-making, enable innovation, and support democratic participation.

So for our 96th 10-Minute International Librarian exercise, explain how you drive transformation.

What activities are you doing – or could you do – that really allow people and communities to change for the better?

Think ambitious – transformation is a big word – and set out the series of steps between what you are doing and the difference you can make.

You can take a look at some of the great campaigns that already exists – Libraries Transform in the US, and Libraries Change Lives in Australia for a start – for ideas, but make your example relevant to your context.

Share your ideas in the comments below.

Good luck!

 

This idea relates to the IFLA Strategy! Key Initiative 1.1: Show the power of libraries in delivering the Sustainable Development Goals. 

You can view our other posts in this series using the #10MinuteInternationalLibrarian tag on this blog, and of course on IFLA’s Ideas Store! Do also share your ideas in the comments box below!

Take Part in World Environment Day 2022: Build and share your Earth Action Number

On World Environment Day (June 5), the Only One Earth campaign calls “collective, transformative action on a global scale to celebrate, protect and restore our planet”. This campaign, led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and hosted in 2022 by Sweden, is the largest international day focussed on the environment.

This year’s call to action echoes the outcomes of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), which culminated in the urgent message that now more than ever, leaders must take increasingly ambitious steps to mitigate the climate emergency.

However, this is not the role of government and policymakers alone. The Only One Earth campaign stresses collective action. A full spectrum of stakeholders – from governments, to cities, financial institutions, businesses, NGOs, academia, civil society, and individuals can – and must – take part.

This campaign highlights that climate action is a common goal, and all people have a vital role to play if we are to make a meaningful difference. Libraries are a part of this solution.

Libraries Empowering Climate Action

Libraries are learning institutions and trusted community spaces that can help educate, empower, and mobilise their community to take action for the environment.

Libraries connect people to knowledge, ideas, skills, and opportunities. Their collections, and expert staff who help make material discoverable, connect us to the past and to one another, and inspire innovation.

Interested in learning more?

 Review IFLA’s brief on Libraries and the Glasgow Work Programme on Action for Climate Empowerment  for more on how libraries can empower climate action through education, access to information, and public participation.

Watch the recent webinar from IFLA’s Environment, Sustainability, and Libraries Section (ENSULIB), Climate equity: A manifesto for libraries, which explores how libraries can be proactive in bringing climate equity to the fore in their communities.

Share your Impact on World Environment Day 2022

For World Environment Day 2022, the Only One Earth campaign calls on all stakeholders to calculate their Earth Action Numbers. These are numeric goals that help celebrate, protect, and restore our planet.

The campaign is creating an interactive map of Earth Action Numbers from around the world. This global perspective shows how many small actions – 2,754 and counting – can add up to a major movement.

Explore Earth Action Numbers from around the world here.

It only takes a few minutes to build your library’s Earth Action Number, add it to the map, and share your impact with the world.

Start here: Build Your Earth Action Number

Step 1: Plan Your Response

 Your library’s Earth Action Number is a specific, quantifiable example of your planned impact.

To build an Earth Action Number for your library, you will be first asked to identify the type of action you will take, or already are taking, through your library’s sustainability-related programmes, campaigns, or initiatives.

This may fall in the following action areas:

Climate Action

Your programme or initiative is addressing the causes of climate change and helping your community find ways to adapt.

A library example: The Oulu City Library project “A Responsible Library as Promoter of Environmental Awareness”, Finland (6th Green Library Project Award Winner) worked towards the goals of promoting environmental awareness among customers and library staff, reducing the environmental impact of library operations, and creating a library action plan for sustainable development.

Nature Action

Your programme or initiative helps preserve nature through sustainable resource consumption and the modelling of sustainable behaviours.

A library example: Lambaye Learning Center – “An Ecological Learning Center” , Senegal, (5th Green Library Award Runner-up) reaches out to their rural community with practical community-oriented programmes. Green thinking permeates all aspects of physical infrastructure, including rainwater collection, a waste disposal system, and use of solar panels.

Chemicals and Pollution Action

Your programme addresses the prevention and management of pollution of all kinds.

A library example: The revitalisation of the Edmonton Public Library, Canada, (6th Green Library Award winner) focussed on diverting waste from landfills during demolition by recycling and reusing as much of the existing materials as possible. It further promotes sustainable transportation by adding bike racks, car charging stations and better access to the light rail transit system.

Step 2: Specify your Action

Once you click on the relevant type of action, you will be able to choose from a list of specific actions that your library may be taking.

Specific actions in your library that you may want to feature could include:

  • improving waste management
  • banning single-use plastic
  • increasing energy efficiency
  • supporting environmental events, campaigns, and advocacy 

Step 3: Describe your action

You will be asked to share a short description of your planned activity – with a quantifiable goal.

For example, you plan to plant 10 bee-friendly plants on your library’s grounds.  Or you plan to use 0 single-use plastics within your library’s premises.

You will then be asked to share a short, specific description of how you plan to achieve this goal. This could be, for example, through 2 planned environmental programmes involving your library’s community, or through the installation of 1 solar panel.

That’s it! Your Earth Action Number has been built! You can do this multiple times to reflect a range of different actions at your library.

Step 4: Share your Impact

Once you build your Earth Action Number, you will receive a set of personalised graphics to promote your action.

Download these personalised graphics and share on social media to help demonstrate the impact that libraries have on inspiring, educating, and leading on climate action.

Join the global conversation by using the hashtags: #OnlyOneEarth and #WorldEnvironmentDay.

Learn how to do more

 Community Organising

The degradation of ecosystems affects all regions of our planet. Results such as extreme weather events and biodiversity loss are devastating to the environment and negatively impact human health and economic well-being.

Meaningful action to prevent degradation and restore ecosystems can happen at the local level in all types of communities. Libraries can have an important role in mobilising this local action.

To help, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has created a Community Organising Toolkit to equip change-makers with tools to mobilise action to restore healthy ecosystems.

In this toolkit, you will find a wealth of ideas for community-led projects and events, as well as practical steps to organising grassroots action.

Find out more and download the toolkit here: IUCN Community Organising Toolkit

Ecosystem Restoration

Restoring healthy ecosystems is a critical aspect of sustainable development, and without action we will not be able to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals set out in Agenda 2030.

Again, meaningful action can happen within our own communities. As a part of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030), the UNEP has produced an Ecosystem Restoration Playbook to help raise awareness on ecosystem restoration and share ideas for local, on-the-ground restoration that can make a major impact.

Use this playbook to start conversations on ecosystem restoration in your library. Identify actions and opportunities to mobilise your community and raise your collective voices in support of your local ecosystems.

Find out more and download this resource here: Ecosystem Restoration Playbook

***

IFLA continues to help the global library field engage in climate action. Follow the work of IFLA’s Environment, Sustainability and Libraries (ENSULIB) Section for more.

IFLA is proud to be a member of the International Steering Committee of the Climate Heritage Network.  Over the course of 2022, IFLA will work with CHN to bring the voice of libraries, and voices from across the culture sector, into the global climate change debate. We are already setting our sights on preparation for COP27, to be hosted in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt in November 2022.

Stay tuned for more, or get in touch: claire.mcguire@ifla.org

 

Measuring the Impact of Cultural Diversity on Development: how libraries can get involved

Without intercultural dialogue, peace and sustainable development are not possible. The UN World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development (21 May) calls for recognition of the essential role that cultural diversity plays in enabling dialogue, building mutual understanding, and supporting better outcomes for all people.

IFLA has long championed the cross-cutting role of culture in building a better, more peaceful, world. As a member of the #Culture2030Goal Campaign, we have called for the recognition of culture as the fourth pillar of sustainable development. We have further called for a dedicated goal for culture in the post-2030 development framework, see the Statement by the #Culture2030Goal campaign on UNESCO MONDIACULT 2022 for more.

The UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (2005 Convention) helps policymakers strengthen their commitment to supporting cultural diversity by providing a framework by which these values are transformed into actions.

By monitoring the implementation of this Convention, we can both measure the impact of culture on development in concrete terms and find a wealth of good practice examples that can inspire further initiatives.

For a practical approach to Cultural Diversity Day, this article will introduce the monitoring framework of the 2005 Convention – especially its relationship to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It will highlight how libraries can get involved in reporting. Finally, it will introduce the methodology of an ongoing research project in which IFLA is mapping the role of libraries in the reports of the 2005 Convention, which will provide a clear picture of how libraries help achieve its goals.

Protecting and Promoting Diverse Cultural Expressions

Parties to the 2005 Convention have expressed a commitment to culture, in recognition of its importance for creating a rich, varied world and driving sustainable development.

The Convention provides a framework by which governments can strengthen international cooperation and work towards policy provisions that will protect and promote cultural diversity, as well support the creators, knowledge-holders, and institutions that make and share culture.

The Convention notably established the International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD), which provides grants in support of a dynamic cultural sector in developing countries.

Note: the 2022 Call for Applications to the IFCD is currently open! Find out more here: 2022 IFCD Call for Nominations.

Another important aspect of the 2005 Convention is its article 11, which encourages active participation with civil society (including libraries and library associations). This provides a strong base on which to build future cooperation with national authorities who implement the convention and measure its impact.

Find out more: Get Into the 2005 Convention

Measuring Progress

In order to better monitor implementation of the Convention, inform evidence-based policymaking, and align with the UN Agenda 2030, UNESCO introduced a Monitoring Framework in 2015.

This framework is based around four goals, which are drawn from the Convention’s guiding principles:

  1. Support sustainable systems of governance for culture
  2. Achieve a balanced flow of cultural goods and services and increase the mobility of artists and cultural professionals
  3. Integrate culture in sustainable development frameworks
  4. Promote human rights and fundamental freedoms

Within each goal, the Framework determines several areas of monitoring, which are critical themes that support the goal. Each area of monitoring is assigned indicators which can be used to measure success, which are in turn confirmed through corresponding means of verification.

UNESCO 2005 Convention Monitoring Framework (2005 Convention Global Report 2022)

Example from the UNESCO 2005 Convention Monitoring Framework

 

Note that each goal is specifically linked to corresponding SDGs. Further, each indicator is linked to one or more SDG targets, which directly connect it to specific tasks or outcomes within the SDG framework.

From the above example, policies and measures which promote gender equality in the culture and media sector indicate progress towards the Gender Equality monitoring area. This supports Goal 4 (Promote Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms), which aligns with SDG #4 (Gender Equality).

However, even more specifically, this indicator is linked to SDG targets 5.c, which concerns adapting policies and enforceable legislation to support women and girls, and 5.5, which concerns equal participation and opportunities for leadership.

Why is this framework important?

Evidence-based policymaking is key to successful implementation of the Convention. This framework helps policymakers and other stakeholders better understand how supporting cultural diversity can impact on sustainable development.

For IFLA’s members – looking at the Monitoring Framework is a practical way to envision how the work your library is already doing – or could be doing in the future – aligns with these goals.

To start, could you think of library initiatives that satisfy these indicators? 

  • Policies and measures support diversity of the media (Goal 1)
  • Policies and measures facilitate access to diverse cultural expressions in the digital environment (Goal 1)
  • Operational programmes support the mobility of artists and cultural professionals, notably from developing countries (Goal 2)
  • Policies and measures support equity in the distribution of cultural resources and inclusive access to such resources (Goal 3)
  • Policies and measures promote and protect freedoms of creation and expression and participation in cultural life (Goal 4)

Explore further: Monitoring Framework – UNESCO 2005 Convention (from the 2005 Convention Global Report 2022)

Making your Impact Known

Countries that are party to the 2005 Convention are required to submit a report on their progress once every four years. These are called Quadrennial Periodic Reports, or QPRs.

In 2019, UNESCO reformed the reports to align directly with the Monitoring Framework. This data collections allows UNESCO to take a holistic look at how the world is protecting and promoting diverse cultural expressions, and how this relates directly to sustainable development.

UNESCO’s most recent overview of the state of cultural policy was debuted earlier this year: Re|Shaping Policies for Creativity: 2005 Convention Global Report 2022

Why are QPRs relevant for libraries?

QPRs present an opportunity for libraries and library associations to make their impact directly known to national cultural authorities and beyond.

Since 2019, UNESCO invites civil society stakeholders to participate in reporting with a dedicated Civil Society Organisation form.  This form follows the reporting framework and allows civil society to share information on their initiatives for inclusion in the final national report.

UNESCO reports that 77% of QPRs submitted since 2019 included measures or initiatives undertaken by civil society organisations, so the willingness to include such input is clearly being demonstrated.

To make your impact known, follow these steps:

  1. Find out when your country’s next QPR is due: Periodic Reports
  2. Download the Civil Society Organisation form [download the word document here].
  3. Review the Monitoring Framework and determine relevant measures and initiatives your organisation/institution/ association has implemented in the last four years
  4. Get in touch with your National Point of Contact [list and contact details here], who is responsible for coordinating reporting in your country. Let them know you are completing the Civil Society Organisation form.
  5. Share the completed civil society organisation form with your National Point of Contact roughly six months before the deadline for submission

Coming Up

In September 2022, the UNESCO World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development – MONDIACULT 2022 – will bring cultural policymakers and stakeholders from across the world together in Mexico City.

This conference will accelerate the global dialolgue on culture’s role in sustainable development and define immediate and future priorities.

Watch IFLA discuss ways in which libraries fit into these discussions here: ResiliArtxMondiacult 2022  

To prepare for these discussions, IFLA is using insights collected through the 2005 Convention monitoring and reporting scheme to map ways in which libraries are being recognised as contributing to the goals of the Convention – and corresponding sustainable development goals.

There are myriad examples included in this body of information. For example, the 2005 Convention Global Report 2022 already provides some insight:

Goal 1: Supporting sustainable systems of governance for culture

  • “Several countries, including Egypt, Norway, Qatar and Slovakia, have begun extensive work to digitize their national libraries, thereby facilitating access to, and the discoverability of, local cultural content in several languages” (UNESCO, 2022, pg. 107)
  • “National Library for the Disabled [Republic of Korea] increased its membership by 84% in 2021 alone, as it expanded its provision in Braille, voice over and sign language” (UNESCO, 2022, pg. 105)

Goal 2: Achieve a balanced flow of cultural goods and services and increase mobility

  • “China and Niger signed a cultural cooperation agreement to exchange information and expertise in the areas of audiovisual, publishing, libraries and exhibitions” (UNESCO, 2022, pg. 178)

Goal 3: Integrate culture in sustainable development

  • “Developing and developed countries all implement a variety of measures for ensuring access to culture outside of the main urban areas… [for example] mobile libraries and bookstores deployed to stimulate reading (China, Egypt, Iraq).” (UNESCO, 2022, pg. 222)
  • “Given that the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the challenge of digital exclusion, it is encouraging to see the reporting of measures aimed at ensuring greater connectivity in libraries across national territories (Argentina, Costa Rica).” (UNESCO, 2022, pg. 222)

IFLA will continue reviewing the body of reports submitted since 2019 to collect quantifiable data on the number of library-related measures and initiatives within each of the Convention’s four objectives. This study with further provide qualifiable data regarding innovative library initiatives that can serve as inspiration for the future.

Stay tuned for more in the lead up to Mondiacult 2022!

For questions or assistance: claire.mcguire@ifla.org

Amplifying Library Stories: How Libraries are Taking Climate Action

In the leadup to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), IFLA asked the Standing Committee of the Environment Sustainability and Libraries Section (ENSULIB) to share examples of libraries educating, connecting and empowering their communities to take climate action.

We were happy to share some guest articles on IFLA’s Policy and Advocacy blog to highlight library initiatives that promote climate action and empowerment in their communities.

 Green FUBib: Sustainability at the University Library

This article offers a look at the GreenFUBib group, a permanent working group that is committed to promoting sustainable action in everyday library life at the University Library of the Freie Universität Berlin.

“GreenFUBib wants to contribute to filling the strategic terms of sustainability and responsibility with life in everyday library activities. In line with the 17 global sustainability goals, it keeps not only the ecological, but also the economic, social and cultural dimensions in mind.”

The working group seeks to address the following questions through their activities:

  • Where can something be done for sustainability and climate protection in the everyday work at the library?
  • Which measures are low-threshold and effective?
  • Which ideas can be implemented for all, or at least most, library locations?

Readers can find an overview of activities carried out by the GreenFUBib group, including choosing more sustainable library practices, like finding plastic-free options, organising educational events, and establishing a library garden. The author also offers a look at future plans on the group, and partners within the university community with whom the working group cooperates to achieve their goals.

This article could be a helpful reference for those who might be interested in establishing similar working groups in their libraries, or in implementing more sustainable everyday library practices.

Contributed by Janet Wagner, Librarian at the Universitätsbibliothek der Freien Universität Berlin (Germany).

Read the full article here: Green FUBib: Sustainability at the University Library

Climate Change in the Spotlight of RECIDA, the Spanish Network of Green Libraries

This article offers a glimpse into recent actions of the Spanish Network of Green Libraries (RECIDA).

This includes participation in the 12th Seminar of Environmental Documentation Centers and Protected Natural Areas, held in October 2021. This Seminar brought together state and regional institutions, universities, researchers, representatives of natural spaces and NGOs in a multi-stakeholder forum for collaboration and exchanges through the RECIDA network.

RECIDA, the Spanish network of green libraries, has been working for sustainability for 20 years. Included in RECIDA’s Action Plan are actions to raise awareness and mitigate climate changes and work towards impacting on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Some experiences highlighted by the RECIDA network during this conference which implement their Action Plan include:

  • Establishing reading clubs in environmental information centers which introduce environmental reading material to the public and raise awareness of the climate emergency
  • The initiative Literary Ecomenu, which encourages users to read, gaze, feel and marvel at nature through words and books.
  • Creation of educational materials for eco-social education aimed at addressing social, economic and ecological challenges

Readers may be interested in the approach of this network, which highlights how library and information professionals can have an impact on climate empowerment. In addition to ideas for action, this article also provides resources shared during the RECIDA network’s recent conference. Further, it provides an example of a multistakeholder approach to integrating libraries in climate action – especially through establishing relationships with academia, other NGOs, and government agencies, especially representing national parks.

Contributed by Rosario Toril Moreno, Documentalist at the National Center of Environmental Education, (Spain).

Read the full article here: Climate Change in the Spotlight of RECIDA, the Spanish Network of Green Libraries

Green Library Awards

During IFLA’s engagement in COP26 (read more on that here), we also drew inspiration from recent winners and runners-up of the IFLA Green Library Awards.

Although we only had time to share a few during COP26 events, we invited the audience to explore the many more examples of excellent library initiatives available on our website.

Have you revisited the Green Library Awards lately? Find inspiration here: IFLA Green Library Awards.

Do you have a similar example to share? Please reach out: claire.mcguire@ifla.org

Learning, Encountering, and Exploring: Libraries Making Space for Cultural Diversity

On World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development (21 May), the UN invites reflection and recognition of the importance of ensuring the ability to create and access diverse cultural expressions.

This is critical for implementing the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (2005). Libraries have an important role to play in fostering an environment where diverse cultural expressions are encouraged, valued, shared, and protected. Find out more about the 2005 Convention through IFLA’s Get into Guide here.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made it more important than ever to reflect on the value that access to and engagement with culture has for society. It also is an urgent call to work collaboratively to identify the gaps which must be addressed to ensure this access.

In 2020, IFLA marked this day by helping launch the #culture2030goal Statement on Culture and the Covid-19 Pandemic, a joint effort by IFLA and partners organisations. This statement called for culture to be at the heart of the COVID-19 response and reaffirmed the value of culture in the 2030 Agenda.

To build on this statement, we will take a deeper look at some examples of how libraries contribute to socially sustainable development by enabling culture to be accessed, explored and shared – including in the virtual space. Thank you to IFLA’s Library Services to Multicultural Populations Section, as well as to the wider library field, for sharing your stories!

Culture, Dialogue, and Social Inclusion

Promotion of a diversity of cultural expressions also includes creating space for dialogue among people and cultures, building respect and mutual understanding.

Many libraries offer programmes to inspire this dialogue in a literal way – through language learning programmes. These are often targeted at the most vulnerable members in society, and act as a means to promote social inclusion and cultural exchange. See examples from Norway and Germany for more.

The Bibliothèque Publique d’Information (BPI) Paris, France found that forging connection through language learning could continue despite closures due to the pandemic. A series of online FLE (français langue étrangère / French as a foreign language) workshops arranged by the library in 2020 connected French learners from both within France and beyond, including participants from Brazil, the United States, the Czech Republic, and Colombia [more here].

Like language learning, arts and art education can also be a tool for social inclusion – a vital aspect in towards the development goal “leave no one behind”.

The Invisible Youth Project (Finland) is one such example of an art-based initiative that targeted youth at risk of social exclusion by promoting creative self-expression.

Through this project, public libraries in the cities Jyväskylä, Seinäjoki, and Turku created space for participants to learn about a variety of creative activities such as design, cartoons, creative and therapeutic writing, digital storytelling, rap music, and video producing.

As social exclusion can stem from a variety of social issues, including poverty, disabilities, limited education, and migrant/marginalised backgrounds, addressing this is an aspect of sustainable development.

Libraries reaching out to those at risk of exclusion, while also promoting cultural expression as a means for social inclusion, can therefore be a driver of sustainable social development. 

Cultural Dialogue Through Library Programming

During the pandemic, many libraries were faced with the challenge of connecting with their communities in the virtual space. For more, see our blog: Virtual Engagement / Actual Connection: building community around digital collections.

We can find many examples of virtual programmes that seek to help their audiences learn about different cultures and traditions through storytelling, such as this recent example from Qatar National Library: Eid Around the World: Unique Traditions from Different Countries.

These programmes can also help connect people to arts and cultural expressions – despite physical distance.

Connections through Poetry

In 2019, Bremen Public Library (Germany) established the project, Lyrik grenzenlos (Poetry without Borders). The goal of this programme was to create an open space for people to come together and enjoy poetry from all over the world.

In addition to building appreciation for the art form, this event included an element of cross-cultural exchange, as participants were invited to recite poetry in their mother tongue, and were accompanied by local musicians with international backgrounds. Poetry was shared in Arabic, Turkish, French, Spanish, Bulgarian, Igbo, Persian, Russian and a variety of German dialects during the in-person event.

The library did not want to lose this community they had built in the face of the outbreak of COVID-19. Therefore, they went digitial, asking participants to create short videos of recitations. You can view the final video online [introduction in German].

As literature like poetry can be a vehicle for cultural exchange, it can also be a means to establish and celebrate a cultural common ground.

Recent hybrid in-person/virtual events at the State Public Library of Guadalajara included a celebration of poetic improvisation as a creative expression shared by Spain and Latin America.

This event explored the tenth, a form of poetry which originated in the Spanish Golden Age and has since become an important poetic-musical phenomenon, uniting Spanish-speakers on both sides of the Atlantic [more here].

Cultural Heritage and Modern Creators

Libraries can help connect unique expressions of intangible cultural heritage to contemporary creators, helping enable the continuation of tradition, while opening the door to modern interpretations.

The National Library of New Zealand Te Aotearoa included in its recent lecture series an event featuring researcher Michael Vinten, and his project collecting and publishing pre-1950 New Zealand art-song. The goal of this project, and the library’s session, was to help facilitate exposure to this form of traditional music to help modern musicians and music students include New Zealand material into their repertoire.

Another example of this was the National Library of France (BNF) participation in the Europeana Sounds project [more here]. The BNF provided metadata to help increase opportunities for access to and creative re-use of Europeana’s audio and audio-related content.

These examples showcase how libraries can help their communities discover and share diverse cultural expressions. Moreover, they exemplify how this goes beyond enjoyment of culture itself. Cultural programming in libraries can be a platform to build connections, facilitate cultural exchange, and enable the creation of new cultural expressions.

GLAM collaboration and cultural education

For International Museum Day (18 May), IFLA reaffirmed the importance of the GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives, museums) sector working together to achieve goals relating to sustainable development (see more on our blog).

One example of libraries and galleries collaborating to connect contemporary art to library users, and find new audiences for both institutions, is the project How to Speak Art (Croatia). This was a cooperative initiative between Silvije Strahimir Kranjčević Library, part of Zagreb City Libraries, and Windows (Prozori) Gallery.

This project combined the curatorial expertise of the gallery with the library’s position as public community space to build exposure to and appreciation of contemporary art. It included an educational aspect for school children, which developed artistic literacy, and fostered an understanding of the role that art can have in their life.

Collaboration between cultural actors can present new opportunities for enhancing the social capital of the arts and those institutions which provide access to it.

Community Heritage Grants

Connecting resources to cultural actors and helping build capacity for community-level cultural activities is an important aspect of access to diverse expressions of culture. Libraries can play a key part in ensuring they achieve their goals.

Australia’s Community Heritage Grants are administrated by the National Library of Australia and funded by the Australian Government through the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications (Office for the Arts); National Library of Australia; the National Archives of Australia; the National Film and Sound Archive and the National Museum of Australia.

These grants are aimed at helping community collections-holding organisations such as libraries, archives, museums, historical societies, and Indigenous groups make their materials more publicly accessible.

Past grant recipients have included community galleries, arts and creative communities, such as the Anangu Uwankaraku Punu Aboriginal Corporation’s Maruku Arts Collection, the Papunya Tjupi Arts Indigenous arts gallery, and the Naracoorte Regional Art Gallery – all community-based galleries showcasing unique cultural heritage and contemporary creative expressions.

Through such programmes, libraries, especially National Libraries, who have the ability to collaborate with national and regional governments can have a real impact on the ongoing accessibility of arts and diverse cultural expressions.

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Libraries are key components in a sustainable ecosystem for creators and cultural actors. They are platforms for the arts to be experienced, enablers of multicultural and multilingual exchange and learning, and facilitators of initiatives that connect creators to opportunity.

IFLA will continue our work in advocating for the library field’s role in preserving and providing access to cultural heritage during the Third Civil Society Forum of the 2005 Convention (31 May 2021).

Get involved! As 2021 is the International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development, we welcome more examples of libraries creating space for diverse cultural expressions! You are invited to share your own.