Category Archives: News

Lyon Declaration update

The Lyon Declaration in 2015

IFLA is very happy to announce that with the start of 2015, the Lyon Declaration has received support from over 500 library, ICT and development, institutions and organisations. This worldwide and cross-sector uptake underlines the importance of the Lyon Declaration and furthermore the importance of access to information for future development.

Please see the full Declaration and the signatories for more information. You can also find 19 translations of the Declaration online.

 

What’s next?

During the next nine months leading up to the UN Special Summit on Sustainable Development in September 2015, IFLA will concentrate its efforts to ensure that access to information remains within the new development framework. We will also work on indicators with our coalition partners. These indicators will enable UN Member States and the UN to measure the impact of access to information on development over the next 15 years. The IFLA Statistics and Evaluation Section is closely working with IFLA and its partners on formulating the indicators.

In order to achieve this, IFLA will participate in a range of high level meetings leading up to the Special Summit on Sustainable Development (September 2015) and will work closely with other stakeholders, national ministries and UN Member States.

Furthermore, several IFLA Sections have prepared briefs on how the Lyon Declaration is relevant to their professional environment. These will be available shortly.

 

Get involved

·         Sign and add your voice to the call at the United Nations;

·         Organise meetings with policy makers in your country and use theToolkit created by IFLA in order to make the voice of the library community heard on a national level;

·         Translate the Lyon Declaration into your language and share it with colleagues in your own country;

·         Encourage others in the library and development sectors to sign the Lyon Declaration;

·         Promote the principles of the Lyon Declaration throughout your network and ensure that the message gets spread as widely as possible.

 

Background

The Lyon Declaration on Access to Information and Development calls upon United Nations Member States to make an international commitment through the post-2015 UN development agenda. The Declaration proposes to ensure that everyone has access to, and is able to understand, use and share the information that is necessary to promote sustainable development and democratic societies. It was prepared by IFLA and a number of strategic partners in the library and development communities.

 

IFLA response to development agenda

IFLA’s response to the Synthesis Report of the UN Secretary-General on the Post-2015 Development Agenda: “The Road to Dignity by 2030: Ending Poverty, Transforming All Lives and Protecting the Planet”

 

Access to information…Intellectual Property reform…access to open data…affordable access to ICTs. These are some of the important issues IFLA and those of us in the greater library and information community are grappling with in a variety of ways.

IFLA has been working with the international library community—as well as civil society and member states—to develop its position on the creation of the new UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and help ensure that crucial elements such as access to information are included in the UN post-2015 Development Agenda. Throughout this process, it is important that libraries are seen as being part of the conversation.

 

Last week, an advance “Synthesis Report of the UN Secretary-General On the Post-2015 Agenda” was released. The Report outlines the priorities and main goals of the post-2015 UN Development Agenda and has a serious goal: to transform our economies, our environment, and our societies. IFLA welcomes the Report and the inclusion of access to information, and encourages the United Nations to recognise the role of access and skills as an essential pillar in the transformational agenda for sustainable development. Unfortunately, we are disappointed that the report lacks substance on the potential of ICTs for development.

 

We encourage the UN and its Member States to use the Lyon Declaration during the next stage of intergovernmental negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda to inform the inclusion of access to information, and the skills to use it effectively by:

·        Acknowledging the public’s right to access information and data, while respecting the right to individual privacy;

·        Recognising the important role of local authorities, information intermediaries and infrastructure such as ICTs and an open Internet as a means of implementation;

·        Adopting policy, standards and legislation to ensure the continued funding, integrity, preservation and provision of information by governments, and access by people;

·        Developing targets and indicators that enable measurement of the impact of access to information and data.

 

IFLA has already released a Toolkit to support library institutions and associations and other civil society organisations to advocate for access to information in the context of post-2015 UN Development Agenda—thereby empowering signatories of the Lyon Declaration to make the voice of the library community heard on a national level.

 

What next?

Following the publication of the final synthesis report at the end of December 2014, IFLA will produce a revised version of the Toolkit with specific talking points and examples to support meetings with member state representatives that library associations and institutions will organise in early 2015.

The final synthesis report will become the baseline for the negations and meetings that will take place throughout 2015, in the lead up to the Special Summit on Sustainable Development. IFLA will be participating in some of the meetings, including:

·        High-level thematic debate on the means of implementation for the post-2015 development agenda (February 2015)

·        Millennium Development Goals Report 2015 (July 2015)

·        Millennium Development Goals Gap Task Force Report (September 2015)

·        Special Summit on Sustainable Development (September 2015)

 

Read the full response online.

IFLA Sustainable Development Goals Efforts

LA has been working with the international library community—as well as civil society and member states—to develop its position on the creation of the new UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and help ensure that crucial elements such as access to information are included in the UN post-2015 Development Agenda. Throughout this process, it is important that libraries are seen as being part of the conversation.

Last week, an advance “Synthesis Report of the UN Secretary-General On the Post-2015 Agenda” was released. The Report outlines the priorities and main goals of the post-2015 UN Development Agenda and has a serious goal: to transform our economies, our environment, and our societies. IFLA welcomes the Report and the inclusion of access to information, and encourages the United Nations to recognise the role of access and skills as an essential pillar in the transformational agenda for sustainable development. Unfortunately, we are disappointed that the report lacks substance on the potential of ICTs for development.

We encourage the UN and its Member States to use the Lyon Declaration during the next stage of intergovernmental negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda to inform the inclusion of access to information, and the skills to use it effectively by:

·         Acknowledging the public’s right to access information and data, while respecting the right to individual privacy;

·         Recognising the important role of local authorities, information intermediaries and infrastructure such as ICTs and an open Internet as a means of implementation;

·         Adopting policy, standards and legislation to ensure the continued funding, integrity, preservation and provision of information by governments, and access by people;

·         Developing targets and indicators that enable measurement of the impact of access to information and data.

IFLA has already released a Toolkit to support library institutions and associations and other civil society organisations to advocate for access to information in the context of post-2015 UN Development Agenda—thereby empowering signatories of the Lyon Declaration to make the voice of the library community heard on a national level.

What next?

Following the publication of the final synthesis report at the end of December 2014, IFLA will produce a revised version of the Toolkit with specific talking points and examples to support meetings with member state representatives that library associations and institutions will organise in early 2015.

The final synthesis report will become the baseline for the negations and meetings that will take place throughout 2015, in the lead up to the Special Summit on Sustainable Development. IFLA will be participating in some of the meetings, including:

·         High-level thematic debate on the means of implementation for the post-2015 development agenda (February 2015)

·         Millennium Development Goals Report 2015 (July 2015)

·         Millennium Development Goals Gap Task Force Report (September 2015)

·         Special Summit on Sustainable Development (September 2015)

Read the full response online.

 

IFLA 2014 Congress School Libraries Section Activities

School Libraries Section minutes and updated Action Plans are available on the website.

The School Libraries Section had a very productive time at the Lyon World Library and Information Congress – having hosted 2 successful sessions.

Minutes from the Lyon WLIC and the section’s Standing Committee meetings held in Lyon are available on the website, plus an updated action plan, and they include details of the 2 successful sessions held during the WLIC. The first on “IFLA/UNESCO School Library Guidelines: Review and Recommendations.” had members of the School Libraries SC as faciltators for the session for a workshop on the draft international school library guidelines (a revision of the 2002 IFLA/UNESCO School Library Guidelines). An expected 35 participants for the guidelines workshop was in fact 185, including about 50 French-speakers. Organized into 15 groups by language and topic. each group worked on the documents and then the participants reported back, one from each French-speaking group, whose words were then translated into English, and one from each English-speaking groups, whose words were then translated into French, by one of the conference volunteers, Christele Mir. A fantastic amount of work was achieved – and huge thanks to Christele.

The second was entitled School Libraries on the Agenda: Advocacy Initiatives from Around the World.” Members of the School Libraries SC served as faciltators for the session which was a culmination and celebration of the completion of our joint advocacy materials project with 8 presentations followed by roundtable discussions. Again an expected 60 participants was in fact 90 delegates. 8 speakers each give a 5-10 minute overview of his/her paper, and then organized the participants into 8 roundtable groups for discussions with the presenters. Presenters came from France, Norway, USA, Sweden, Malaysia, and South Africa. Presenters from Nigeria and Argentina were unable to come to Lyon, unfortunately. However, all ten of the papers on school library advocacy are available on the IFLA conference website and in the IFLA Library.

The section is now continuing with this work and will report back regularly. Thank you to all participants.

http://www.ifla.org/node/9049

http://www.ifla.org/publications/school-libraries-section-action-plan

http://www.ifla.org/school-libraries/minutes

http://conference.ifla.org/ifla80

http://library.ifla.org/view/conferences/2014/2014-08-21/437.html

International Literacy Day September 8

The theme of International Literacy Day 2014 is “Literacy and Sustainable Development”.  Literacy is one of the key elements needed to promote sustainable development, as it empowers people so that they can make the right decisions in the areas of economic growth, social development and environmental integration. Literacy is a basis for lifelong learning and plays a crucial foundational role in the creation of sustainable, prosperous and peaceful societies.

Literacy skills developed from a basic to advanced level throughout life are part of broader competencies required for critical thinking, the sense of responsibility, participatory governance, sustainable consumption and lifestyles, ecological behaviours, biodiversity protection, poverty reduction, and disaster risk reduction.

This year’s International Literacy Day will be celebrated worldwide. A main global celebration will take place in Dhaka, where the Government of Bangladesh in cooperation with UNESCO will organize the International Conference on “Girls’ and women’s literacy and education: Foundations for sustainable development and the awarding of UNESCO Literacy Prizes” in support for the UN Secretary General’s Global Education First Initiative (GEFI).

– See more at: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/events/prizes-and-celebrations/celebrations/international-days/literacy-day/#sthash.Y5Y8jDTo.dpuf