IFLA World Library and Information Congress #wlic2019

The IFLA World Library and Information Congress 2019 is still taking place this week in Athens, Greece https://2019.ifla.org/. You can follow the twitterfeed at https://twitter.com/hashtag/wlic2019?src=hashtag_click and some events are livestreamed and then stored as recordings: see https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLV81siTMahbsLVgPxETmNlhaOpEoIZPZ6

Presenters in many sessions submit full papers, which go into IFLA's online library. I will highlight some of those later this week.

IFLA announced its new strategy (2019-2014) during the conference - more information at https://www.ifla.org/strategy IFLA's Vision is "A strong and united library field powering literate, informed and participative societies" Its mission "To inspire, engage, enable and connect the global library field" and IFLA's values are "The endorsement of the principles of freedom of access to information. ideas and works of imagination and freedom of expression embodied in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; The belief that people, communities and organisations need universal and equitable access to information, ideas and works of imagination for their social, educational, cultural, democratic and economic well-being; The conviction that delivery of high-quality library and information services helps guarantee that access; The commitment to enable all Members of the Federation to engage in, and benefit from, its activities without regard to citizenship, disability, ethnic origin, gender, geographical location, language, political philosophy, race or religion"

IFLA is already a truly international organisation, but its key event (WLIC) is (for those with lower incomes) expensive, and although there are always a few bursaries, richer countries are better represented than less rich ones. A satellite meeting organised by Division V of IFLA Leadership roles in international librarianship: how can information professionals from Africa, Asia and Oceania, and Latin America and the Caribbean be part of it? was held in Alexandria, Egypt 20-21 August, with the participation of 63 participants from 23 countries (covering Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, Oceania, Europe and North America). Outputs of this included a declaration on issues of representation and cost.