UN HABITAT, the United Nations Programme for Human Settlements, recently released Cities and Pandemics: Towards a More Just, Green and Healthy Future. Drawing both on the organisations’ long experience of supporting sustainable urban development – most notably through delivering on the New Urban Agenda – and lessons learned during the COVID-19 Pandemic so far, the […]
Read moreThis year, 22 April marks the 10th anniversary of the International Girls in ICT Day. Over the past years, libraries in different parts of the world have taken part in the Girls in ICT Day celebrations – with activities which build on a natural alignment between the goals of the Day, and libraries’ experiences with supporting digital literacy and equitable access to knowledge.
So, what do gender digital divides look like in 2021, and what can libraries do to help?
This month, we are celebrating the 26th Anniversary of the IFLA-UNESCO Public Library Manifesto. Since 1994, the Manifesto has been at the heart of public library advocacy – declaring UNESCO’s belief in the public library as a living force for education, culture and information, and its essential role in the promotion of peace and well-being. […]
Read moreLibraries and their users around the world are facing complexity and uncertainty, both in maintaining operations today, and in their future planning. Clearly a main area of concern is how to reopen and resume services safely for users and staff, given that our understanding of COVID-19 is still developing. Library associations and authorities are working […]
Read moreA particularly welcome trend in the past year at the United Nations has been evidence of growing recognition of the importance of knowledge and information in the achievement of wider policy goals.
Read moreAdvocacy is about making libraries part of other people’s agendas, ensuring that those who take decisions about us (and those who influence them) see why our institutions and profession matter.
Read moreOn 19 December, the UN General Assembly approved a resolution looking at the relationship between culture and sustainable development. Such resolutions are prepared every two years, but nonetheless this represents a useful high-level reference point for work on the place of culture in delivering the 2030 Agenda.
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