2023 International Literacy Day Celebration
AUGUST 21, 2023
Literacy is central to development, and for building inclusive, resilient and sustainable communities. At the 14th session of UNESCO’s General Conference on 26 October 1966, 8th September was set aside as an international day to bring issues about literacy to the front burner. From 1967 when the Day was first celebrated until the present times, topics of impact as pertains to literacy have been highlighted annually. The 2023 theme: Promoting literacy for a world in transition: Building the foundation for sustainable and peaceful societies focuses on how literacy can be a major cornerstone for ensuring peace and sustainability in a world that is battling with changes as the ability to read, write and numeracy skills can engender inclusiveness and equity.
- Libraries all over the world mark the International Literacy Day by drawing attention to their contributions in engendering literacy as a foundational learning block for accessing and exploitation of life-changing opportunities.
- This year, the Public and Community Libraries Section of AfLIA will lead African librarians to better understand;
- how they can promote literacy through engaging closely with their different communities.
- how they draw the communities that they serve closer to gain literacy skills when the people do not truly see themselves and their realities reflected in the collections in these libraries?
- how African public and community libraries can ramp up the literacy rate for their user communities in English and their mother tongues. This is important as the emphasis on Open knowledge continues to grow.
Besides the key talking points above, the webinar will also strive to answer questions of ‘whose literacy?’, and ‘whose knowledge. The webinar will also build participants’ confidence in embarking on community engagement that will help promote literacy
Topic: Promoting Literacy through Community Engagements for African Public and Community Libraries
Date: Friday, 8th September 2023
Time: 10am UTC | 11am WAT | 12noon CAT | 12noon SAST | 1pm EAT
Registration details
Click on the button below to book your space for the session. Kindly note that once you register, you will receive reminders about the event.
Speaker
Antonetta Sipho Madziva nee’Msimanga is a senior librarian with 38 years of experience in public libraries. She is the chairperson of the Public and Community Libraries Section (PCLS) in AfLIA and strongly advocates for the importance of libraries and early childhood literacy. She has participated in library development activities, reading promotion events, and is a graduate of the International Network of Emerging Library Innovators (INELI) Sub-Sahara Africa cohort 1 and a Champion for the Advancing Library Visibility in Africa (ALVA) project.
Moderator
Shanitha Bhim is the Vice Chair of the AfLIA’s Public and Community Libraries Section. She is a graduate of INELI SSAf (Cohort 1) and is a highly acknowledged innovator in public library services in Msunduzi municipality. She co-ordinates and controls the activities, procedures and outcomes associated with the provision of a comprehensive library services. She is also an active member of LIASA.
Technical Requirements
Upon registration, reminders will be sent to all registrants periodically. This webinar will be hosted on Zoom Conferencing Platform. Participants, who do not have Zoom on their mobile devices and or computers, need to download, install and create an account on Zoom ahead of time (CLICK TO DOWNLOAD). Webinar attendees are encouraged to join early, preferably 15 minutes before the start of the webinar, as one may need time launch the application. The speaker will use a webcam to connect with attendees. Audio and video for the session will be streamed over computer speakers. Attendees are therefore encouraged to connect with a headset or earpiece for maximum utility.
Webinar Materials
A list of resources and further information will made be available at the end of the webinar, to enable thorough engagement with the webinar content. All registrants will have access to the presentation slides. The webinar recording will be uploaded on AfLIA Youtube Channel soon after the webinar to facilitate continuous engagement with the webinar content by webinar attendees and non-attendees. Please note that this webinar does not involve certificate of participation.
Queries
For further enquiries and any assistance relating to the webinar, contact us at afliacomm@aflia.net.