IFLA WLIC 2021: Multicultural library services worldwide: 15 years of the IFLA/UNESCO Multicultural Library Manifesto

When:  August 18, 10-10:45 am Chicago (CDT) / 11-11:45am New York (EDT) /  5-5:45 pm The Hague (CEST) / 11-11:45 pm Beijing (CST) / August 19, 1-1:45 am Melbourne (AEST)

Where:  (Libraries Include – Stream 2) WLIC registration required.

Fifteen years ago, the IFLA Multicultural Library Manifesto was approved by the IFLA Governing Board at the 2006 World Library and Information Congress in Seoul, and endorsed by UNESCO in 2009. The primary goal of the Manifesto was to assist libraries in developing and advocating for multicultural services.

The creation of the Manifesto has paved the way for other initiatives, including the Manifesto Toolkit, which was launched at the 2014 World Library and Information Congress in Lyon, revised in 2018, and so far translated into Chinese, Japanese, Russian and Spanish.

This virtual conference setting provides the unique opportunity to put together a discussion panel featuring section leaders who were actively involved in the development of the Manifesto and Toolkit: Mijin Kim (Chair 2007-2011), Tess Tobin (Chair 2011-2015), Lan Gao (Chair 2019-2021) and Adjoa K. Boateng (Chair 2017-2019) who will facilitate the discussion.

This 45-minute pre-recorded session will be an opportunity to look back fifteen years, returning to the origins and vision for the Manifesto – the circumstances around the decision to create this document, and the kinds of change that were envisioned in the sector as a result. Panelists will share their recollections of the challenges in developing the manifesto – firstly as an official IFLA document, and then endorsed by UNESCO.

The panel will also discuss the importance of also creating an accompanying toolkit, to provide practical guidance in applying the Manifesto in libraries, and the work undertaken in developing this toolkit.

Finally, the session will be an opportunity to discuss the value of library manifestos, as demonstrated by the IFLA/UNESCO Multicultural Library Manifesto, and the lessons learnt that other IFLA sections can take on when developing plans for creating their own manifestos.

This panel discussion will be followed by a live Q&A session with the panelists in Zoom Discussion Room 2.