Last month’s 42nd meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organisation’s (WIPO) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related rights (SCCR) was, at the same time, a breath of fresh air, and a return to the norm. It was certainly welcome to be able to engage, once again, with delegates in person. Fora like WIPO offer great […]
Read moreIn IFLA’s work around the SDGs, our core theme is the importance of meaningful access to information as a key driver for development.
Read moreWhen COVID-19 began sweeping the world in the early months of 2020, public life made a collective retreat indoors. Schools closed, museums shuttered, and many libraries had no choice but to halt in-person services for their communities. On our COVID-19 and the Global Library Field page, IFLA has made an effort to aggregate methods by […]
Read moreThe COVID-19 pandemic is having a huge impact on our lives, societies and economies. Millions have fallen ill, and billions have faced restrictions on their movements, with early evidence indicating serious economic consequences. The next months will reveal more about how quickly it will be safe to lift the controls in place, and what the […]
Read moreSometimes it feels as though we are living in unprecedented times. We live in a globalised world that is rife with global problems – instability, conflict and inequalities that seem unsurpassable. And now, a pandemic that is leaving a wake of lost lives, unemployment and overstretched medical services as it runs its course around the […]
Read moreAt last month’s World Urban Forum, the World Bank launched a new report – The Hidden Wealth of Cities* – exploring on the importance of public space. Taking public space to mean all spaces in urban areas which are open to the public, both outside and inside, it includes a particular study on the place […]
Read moreIntellectual property rights – copyrights included – are designed to create a market for ideas and expressions. Without them, the argument goes, there is no way of earning money from a work or product, and so no incentive to create. The right to enjoy the material benefits of a work – if not copyright per […]
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