On 15-17 November 2024, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, the 30th Annual General Conference of Directors of National Libraries in Asia and Oceania (CDNLAO) 2024 and the Workshop entitled “Libraries and Sustainability” was held at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Library with the participation of the Secretary General of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), representative of the IFLA Regional Office in Asia and Oceania and 33 delegates representing 16 national libraries in the region. The National Library of Viet Nam (NLV) delegation led by Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Anh, Deputy Director attended the Conference.
Speaking at the opening session, IFLA Secretary General Sharon Memis informed delegates about IFLA's typical programs, projects and initiatives in recent times, especially emphasizing the position, role and contribution of national libraries of member countries in participating in action programs to implement the United Nations Agenda 2030 and Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).
Within the framework of the 30th CDNLAO Annual Conference, delegates approved the 29th CDNLAO Conference’s minutes and discussed arising issues, listened to reports on the performance of national libraries of member countries, reports from the IFLA Asia-Oceania Regional Office on the performance of the period 2023-2024, and discussed the development orientation and action plan of the forum in the coming time.
At the workshop on “Libraries and Sustainability”, 13 presentations of the National Libraries of India, Korea, Kuwait, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, China, Viet Nam, and the National Library and Archives of the United Arab Emirates shared initiatives and lessons learned on three main topics: (i) The role of libraries in supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, (ii) Green libraries and environmental sustainability, (iii) Educating the community about sustainability through libraries. The Vietnamese delegation presented a paper on “Green libraries: A Welcoming Hub for Knowledge” sharing about the green library model in Viet Nam; strengths, weaknesses, challenges and opportunities of building and operating green libraries in Viet Nam; recommendations and proposals for building green libraries and environmental sustainability attracted the great attention of the colleagues in the region.
Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Anh, NLV Deputy Director presented paper at the Workshop “Libraries and Sustainability”
In parallel with the CDNLAO 30 Conference program, the Vietnamese delegation also attended the opening session, listened to keynote speaker reports and participated in several open sessions of the first Dubai International Library Conference with the theme "Our Libraries: Past, Present and Future", discussing topics such as artificial intelligence, sustainable libraries, intellectual property, open access, preservation and restoration of archives, the role of philanthropy in materials access rights, transforming learning spaces in libraries, the role of libraries in promoting knowledge sharing and cultural enrichment... In addition, during the Conference, the NLV’s leader had sideline meetings with the leaders of IFLA, IFLA Asia-Oceania Regional Office, American Library Association, National Library of Finland, and national library directors of countries in the region to discuss the situation and prospects for developing bilateral and multilateral cooperation activities between the National Library of Viet Nam and the library partners in the coming time.
At the end of the Conference, delegates visited the Book Museum, the Historical Press Exhibition and the service areas of the Mohammed bin Rashid Library, UAE.
Heads of Delegations took souvenir photo
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News and photos: Bui Thi Thuy