Take action now so that libraries have a say!

IFLA has launched a new toolkit which will help you to advocate to your national and regional policy makers to make sure that libraries and access to information are included as part of national and regional development plans that will contribute to meeting the global 2030 Agenda.

Now that the 2030 Agenda has been finalised, it is up to you to act and ensure that your needs are reflected on your national level! Libraries make an important contribution to development. IFLA has launched a new toolkit which will help you to advocate to your national and regional policy makers to make sure that libraries and access to information are included as part of national and regional development plans that will contribute to meeting the global 2030 Agenda.

Libraries must now show that they can drive progress across the entire 2030 Agenda. We encourage all library associations and institutions to take action now. While the SDGs are universal goals, each country will be responsible for developing and implementing national strategies to achieve them, and will be expected to track and report its own progress toward each target.

As these plans are developed, the library community in each country will have a clear opportunity to communicate to their government leaders how libraries serve as cost-effective partners for advancing their development priorities. Advocacy is essential now to secure recognition for the role of libraries as engines of local development, and to ensure that libraries receive the resources needed to continue this work.

The process will be different in each country, and many have already decided how the SDGs will be implemented nationally. Take action now so that libraries have a say.

Download the toolkit

Revised version (August 2017)

Original version

Translations

Please also see implementation examples from libraries worldwide. 

External resources

The Transparency, Accountability & Participation (TAP) Network has recently published its advocacy toolkit providing national-level civil society stakeholders with guidance on how to engage with their governments and other local, regional or international stakeholders to support the planning, implementation, follow-up and accountability of Goal 16. IFLA has been actively involved in the TAP network and the drafting of the toolkit (also available in Español and français)

Background

In September 2015, the United Nations (UN) endorsed the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. IFLA has been actively involved in the process of creating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) over the last years and has advocated for access to information, culture, access to Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs),culture and universal literacy, all of which can be found in the 2030 Agenda, throughout this time.