AfLIA opens the Call for the 2023 Conference Papers, Ignite Talks, Posters and Big Ideas proposals
AUGUST 10, 2022
Dear All,
The last couple of years have seen immense shifts in the way people learn formally, as the pandemic caused changes, flexibility and reshaping in the education sector. Informally, the need for the workforce in various fields to update their skills has grown astronomically and this has brought on new ways of gaining skills and knowledge for charting progressive career paths. Young people are adding additional skills to their certificates in order to improve their employability quotient. Lifelong learning is becoming a habit for all sections of the society as more and more people irrespective of age see the importance of learning, unlearning and relearning to ensure that they keep up with information, engagements, collaborations and trends around them and globally.
Libraries have always been centres of interdisciplinary learning at different levels. Time is not static and rather than focusing on the role that libraries had played it has become expedient that as knowledge migrates more to online spaces, African Librarians need to thoroughly understand the future of learning, and how it may affect library and information services to their user communities, their repertoire of skills and relevance for formal and informal learning. It is crucial that libraries are reinvented as offline and online learning hubs that support online classes, participatory peer to peer learning, co-creation of knowledge through digital technologies and indigenous ways of knowing.
Furthermore, it has been recognized that there is need to open up knowledge which could lead to innovative solutions, to challenges that bedevil the society as what affects one corner of the globe could invariably spread to other corners. This has been recognized as an integral part of future of learning. The UNESCO OER recommendation which seeks to ‘build capacity of stakeholders to create access, use, adapt and redistribute OER’ and ‘encourage inclusive and equitable quality OER’ among other objectives, fits clearly into the mandate of libraries.
The African Library and Information Associations and Institutions (AfLIA) believes that African libraries of all types can successfully navigate the changing scenarios brought on by the new ways and methods of learning into their service delivery. That is why the Governing Council carefully chose the theme for the 2023 Conference: Future of learning, libraries and sustainable development in Africa. This was expressively done to reflect the present day realities and challenges of the future of learning in Africa as well as figuring out how the roles of libraries of all types in driving learning can lead to sustainable development.
Please click on the link below for full details of Theme, Subthemes, Special sessions/Workshops and the Guidelines for the submission of Paper, Poster, Ignite Talks and Big Ideas Podium proposals.
Also, the 5th AfLIA Conference and 7th African Library Summit which will be held physically in Accra, Ghana, about the 4th week of May, will be celebratory in a number of ways as AfLIA marks her 10th anniversary. The conference will also feature unique sessions and workshops on the UNESCO OER recommendation (with Neil Butcher and Associates), Wikidata, the climate crisis, and managing perceptions for stakeholders’ engagement.
I hereby appreciate in advance all who will participate in this 2023 conference and AfLIA’s 10th anniversary celebrations. We look forward to welcoming you to Accra, Ghana in May 2023.
Thank you.
Helena Asamoah-Hassan, PhD
Executive Director
AfLIA