​

[PDF – English]

We, members of Division V, including the participants of the IFLA Division V Satellite Meeting, as part of the 2019 IFLA World Library Information Congress, on “Leadership roles in international librarianship: how can information professionals from Africa, Asia & Oceania, Latin America & Caribbean be part of it?”, at the Library of Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt,

Recognize that:

– IFLA is the global voice of libraries and aims to work closely with all libraries worldwide;

– The Global Vision initiative has emphasised the necessity to build a unified field for all libraries to bridge the gap between developed and developing countries;

– The Library Map of the World shows the large numbers of libraries in developing countries which need to have stronger engagement with IFLA; and

– The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) require that IFLA support libraries in all countries to work with their authorities to achieve the SDGs;

Acknowledge that:

  • The Division V of IFLA represents the largest number of countries (specially developing countries), in population, size, and library and information needs;
  • Although the regions comprise 3/5 of the total number of libraries worldwide, fewer than 30% of professionals from our regions are engaged in IFLA activities due to financial, language and communication challenges;
  • The libraries of our regions need effective infrastructure and communication with IFLA and its Regional Offices;
  • It is IFLA’s purpose to develop a unified field of libraries across the globe;
  • IFLA is a democratic organization where the views of all members are respected; and
  • IFLA has horizontal activities through its Divisions & Sections and vertical activities through geographical regions and its sub-regions;

Commit to working with the IFLA Governing Board on the following actions:

  •  To address the affordability of IFLA membership, by applying the United Nations formula for Developing Countries and/or by establishing new categories of membership fees which work for the least developed countries;
  • To provide more resources to the IFLA Regional Offices in order to support more projects and events in their regions.  This means:

    • Agreeing on new hosting conditions,
    • Recruiting new staff with a clear mandate and appropriate remuneration, and
    • Requiring the Regional Office Manager to report to the Chair of the Regional Section, as well as to IFLA HQ and to the hosting institution;
  • To re-consider the scale of fees for the annual world congress to make them more realistic for all members, especially the developing countries;
  • To consider options for partial decentralization of its operations to create regional conferences and meetings related to IFLA, in collaboration with other relevant organizations; and
  • To encourage IFLA professional sections to actively seek members from developing countries, including as corresponding members, to increase the professional exchanges among IFLA members.

And aspire to see real progress in applying this declaration and implementing it by the time of the IFLA Centenary in 2027. 

This Declaration of Division V will be presented to the IFLA Governing Board for discussion and approval at the 2019 IFLA World Library Congress, and subsequent action.

Therefore, we, the three Sections of Division V affirm this Declaration, with one voice, unanimously expressing the views of the participants of the Satellite Meeting of Division V, on 21st of August 2019, in Alexandria, Egypt.

NOTE: This Declaration was forwarded by Sueli Mara Soares Pinto Ferreira (Division V Chair 2017-2019) to the IFLA Governing Board (GB) during its sixty-second meeting held on August 23, 2019 in Room MC2 of the Megaron International Convention Center, Athens, Greece. The same day it was emailed to all members of GB 2019-2021 and also to the IFLA-L, IFLA-LAC, AFRICA-L and RSCAO-L mailing lists. On August 24, it was unanimously presented, discussed and accepted at the WLIC 2019 Section 049 Caucus Division V – Africa, Asia & Oceania and Latin America and the Caribbean at 6 pm, Athens, Greece.

Translations