The International Advocacy Programme (IAP)

International Advocacy Programme (IAP)

The IFLA International Advocacy Programme (IAP) was a capacity-building programme launched in 2016, designed to promote and support the role libraries can play in the planning and implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda and the SDGs. It ran from 2016 to 2018.

Objectives

  • Raise the level of awareness on the SDGs of library workers at community, national and regional levels, and to promote the important role libraries can play in development by contributing to the UN 2030 Agenda and the SDGs;
  • Increase the participation of library associations and public library representatives in advocacy work at national and regional levels to secure sustainable public access to information through library services and programmes.

In the context of the IAP, ‘advocacy’ involved “the actions individuals or organizations undertake to influence decision-making at the local, regional, state, national, and international levels that help create a desired policy or funding change in support of public libraries” (Global Libraries Advocacy Guide (2011), p.2).

The programme was organized in the following main phases:

Awareness-raising and advocacy plan development

IFLA delivered regional workshops to raise awareness of the 2030 Agenda and SDGs, and help participants develop a proposal to undertake advocacy activities around the SDGs at national and regional levels to get libraries included in the National Development Plans.

IAP Regional Workshops

Follow-up actions by participating countries 

Before the workshop, participants signed an agreement with IFLA to carry out awareness-raising activities and to meet with policy makers to ensure libraries are recognised as key partners in supporting the United Nations 2030 Agenda. IFLA monitors progress and supports participants to achieve their commitments, and helps communicate widely their activities and progress with the community.

Participating countries:

76 countries/territories signed agreements with IFLA to participate in the IAP:

  • Africa (Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, South Africa, eSwatini, Uganda, Zimbabwe)
  • Asia-Pacific (Australia, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Vietnam)
  • Europe (Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland)
  • Latin America and the Caribbean (Argentina, Aruba, Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Paraguay, Perú, Puerto Rico (United States), St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay)
  • MENA (Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates)

Call for Funding Proposals

IFLA launched calls for funding proposals in January and August 2017, to carry out awareness-raising activities at a national or regional level. All countries were eligible to apply and priority was given to regional initiatives including countries that were not involved in the regional workshops.

Through these projects, 38 additional countries/territories also became involved in the IAP:

  • Africa (Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Liberia, Mali, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, Tanzania)
  • Asia-Pacific (Hong Kong (China), Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macau (China), Russian Federation, Taiwan, Uzbekistan)
  • Europe (Austria, Bosnia Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Sud Tirol (Italy))
  • Latin America and the Caribbean (Bolivia, Ecuador)
  • MENA (Libya, Morocco, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen)

Global Review

A delegation of IAP participants from all regional workshops were invited to a Global Convening on 28-29 June 2018 in New York, USA, to share their actions, experiences, evaluate the progress and impact of the programme to date, and to make joint plans for future cooperation around the UN 2030 Agenda. 

This brochure offers a summary of what IFLA did and what IFLA achieved in two years, since the launch of the IAP in 2016, to ensure libraries receive the recognition they deserve as partners for development.

For more information, please contact us at: DA2I@ifla.org

LDP (Library Development Programme), Access to information, Development, UN 2030 Agenda, UN SDGs, IAP

Dernière mise à jour: 24 mars 2020