Libraries for ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment

2 MARCH 2025

Every year, the world celebrates International Women’s Day on March 8th to recognize the achievements of women and discuss ways to create equal opportunities for all. The 2025 theme, “For ALL Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment.” calls for action to ensure equal rights and opportunities for women and girls everywhere.

To mark this special occasion, AfLIA is hosting a panel discussion under the theme:
“Libraries for ALL Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment.”

The discussion will explore how different types of libraries can support and empower women and girls in their communities. Some key questions include:

What role can libraries play in ensuring that women and girls in Africa are empowered?
How can libraries share and preserve the stories of African women and girls to inspire future generations?

We invite all African library and information professionals to attend and participate in this important discussion. Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with experts, share ideas, and contribute to advancing gender equality through libraries.

Date – March 10, 2025

Time – 10 am UTC | 11am WAT | 12noon CAT/SAST | 1pm EAT

Registration

CLICK TO REGISTER

Kindly note that once you register, you will receive reminders about the event.

Discussants

Ramatoulie Touray is an academic librarian dedicated to advancing scholarly communication, open access and digital knowledge management. As a key figure in the development of library services in the Gambia, she has been instrumental in initiatives aimed at transforming libraries into hubs of research support, digital scholarship and information access. Ramatoulie plays a key role in developing and managing library services, supporting policies on open access and digital preservations. She oversees strategic initiatives aimed at modernizing library operations, enhancing research visibility and developing sustainable library systems. She actively participates in national and international library networks, collaborating on projects related to open science, research data management and digital preservations. Passionate about technology driven solutions, Ramatoulie continuously explores innovative ways to integrate emerging technologies into library systems. She holds a master’s degree in library Archives and Information Studies.

Purity Kavuri-Mutuku is the Assistant Director at the Kenya National Library Service and a passionate librarian with over 20 years of experience. She holds a Master’s and Bachelor’s degree in Library and Information Science and is a dedicated advocate for library services, digital literacy, and knowledge management. She is a registered member of the Kenya Library Association (KLA) and has served diverse volunteer roles in the African Library and Information Associations & Institutions (AfLIA). Purity has published articles in peer-reviewed journals and has presented papers at national and international conferences. She is committed to training, storytelling, and advancing library advocacy across Africa.

Moderator

Dr. Fatimah Jibril Abduldayan is a leading advocate for open science, research data management, and gender and development in Nigeria. She is the Team Lead for LIBSENSE Nigeria, where she drives capacity-building efforts and promotes open science practices across academic institutions. As the Head of the Library and Information Science Department at the Federal University of Technology Minna, she plays a key role in advancing research data management policies, open access publishing, and research assessment reforms. She has contributed to developing open access policies, organizing training for librarians and researchers, and fostering a strong open science community. Dr. Abduldayan also serves as the Trade Manager of the FUTMinna Academic Publishing Centre and collaborates with WACREN, Datasphir, and the Open Book Collective, UK, to enhance open book publishing in Nigeria. She recently completed a certificate course in Gender and Development Studies at the Policy Innovation Centre, Abuja, to deepen her understanding of gender issues affecting women and girls in Africa.

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.

Enquiries

For further enquiries and any assistance relating to the webinar, contact us at afliacomm@aflia.net.