The Department of Arts and Culture invites members of the media to the Pre-Conference Meeting of African Minister of Culture and the opening of the 81st General Conference of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) on 14 and 16 August 2015 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTIC) respectively. The 2015 IFLA Conference will be held from 15 to 21 August 2015 in Cape Town under the theme: “Dynamic Libraries: Access, Development and Transformation,” in Cape Town.
The congress is held annually on a different continent of the world. This is the third time it is held on the African continent. The first conference was held in Nairobi, Kenya (1984), followed by Durban in South Africa (2007). In 2013 the bid was awarded to the Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA) to host the 2015 Congress in Cape Town.
As part of the pre-conference programme, the Minister of Arts and Culture, Mr Nathi Mthethwa and Deputy Minister, Ms Rejoice Mabudafhasi will host a pre-conference meeting of African Ministers of Culture about the role of libraries in the post-2015 development agenda on Friday, 14 August 2015. Countries participating include Cape Verde, South Sudan, Nigeria, Madagascar, Swaziland, Lesotho and Namibia.
The pre-conference meeting is expected to provide strategic leadership on the current state of libraries and how to build partnerships for the realisation of the United Nations Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals, the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO’s) role in strengthening education systems for sustainable development in Africa. MEC’s on Arts and Culture will be amongst the 3 500 delegates expected to participate at the Conference.
Amongst others objectives, the IFLA Conference will seek to promote high standards of provision and delivery of library and information services as well as to encourage widespread understanding of the value of efficient library & information services.
Members of the media are invited as follows:
Pre-Conference Meeting
Date: 14 August 2015
Time: 9h00
Venue: Cape Town International Convention Centre
Opening ceremony
Date: 16 August 2015
Time: 10h00
Venue: Cape Town International Convention Centre
For media RSVPs on the pre-conference, please contact Madimetja Moleba MadimetjaM@dac.gov.za/Madimetja82@gmail.com 060 971 7482
Media Accreditation for the IFLA Conference: Press Registration forms are available from wlic2015-registration@kit-group.org
Media enquiries:
Lisa Combrinck
Cell: 082 821 4886
E-mail: LisaC@dac.gov.za
Peter Mbelengwa
Cell: 082 611 8197
E-mail: peterm@dac.gov.za
