Recap of WISE at IFLA
September 18, 2007
Durban, South Africa—This August, the WISE Consortium had the privilege of delivering a presentation to the International Federation
of Library Associations and Institution’s (IFLA) 73rd annual World
Library and Information Congress (WLIC) in Durban, South Africa. Over 3000 delegates from 117 nations (including over 1000 library professionals from South Africa) participated in
this year’s congress, themed “Libraries for the Future: Progress, Development,and Partnerships.”
WISE was included in the inception session of the new IFLA E-learning special interest group. The standing-room only audience of over 450 people demonstrated the global interest
in online library and information science education. IFLA provided an actively
engaged forum for WISE to share their work and invite others to participate in
defining excellence in online education on an international scale.
In addition to the many professional development opportunities at IFLA, participants
enjoyed a warm welcome from the South African LIS community, with presentations
from national storyteller Gcina Mhlophe, fondly known as the “Mother of Books,” and performances of traditional and contemporary Zulu dance and music from local groups throughout
the week. In return, the global community responded to a call from conference
organizers to take part in the first annual IFLA book-drive. Over 700 books and
toys were donated by conference attendees; the collection will be distributed
to local libraries by Biblionef South Africa.
For more information about the WISE consortium, please visit www.wiseeducation.org
For more information about IFLA, please visit www.ifla.org