Earlier this month, ALIA Vice-President Clare Thorpe attended the IFLA Regional Workshop for Asia Oceania held at the National Library of Thailand in Bangkok. Funding for the trip was provided by IFLA.
Almost 50 delegates representing IFLA Members across the region, members of our Asia-Oceania Regional Division Committee and Preservation and Conservation (PAC) Centres met for three days. Delegates came from 28 countries across Central, East, South and South-East Asia, and Oceania, from Iran, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan in the west to Pacific island nations including Fiji, Vanuatu, Guam and the Mariana Islands in the east. Australia was represented by three delegates, Clare representing ALIA, Tanya Riviere from National Library of Australia as the PAC lead, and Jayshree Mamtora who is a member of IFLA’s Regional Division committee for Asia Oceania. The event was also attended by IFLA’s President, Barbara Lison (Germany), IFLA Regional Council Chair Nthabiseng Kotsokoane (South Africa) and IFLA staff from The Netherlands.
The workshop topics included defining and building a sustainable library field in the region, developing advocacy skills to use when meeting with government agencies and funders, and evaluating and demonstrating the impact of libraries. The workshop also provided time for networking and building connections between library leaders across the region.