Regional Activities: Africa

Annual Report 2001-2002

The Regional Office, in conjunction with the Standing Committee of the Africa Section, has undertaken a number of activities during the years 2001 and 2002. These activities were financed during these two by budgets provided by IFLA HQ and IFLA ALP Programme.

• 15 000 NLG for the Régional Office operating budget.
• 10 000 NLG for the annual Regional Standing Committee meeting.
• 5900 Euros as contribution of ALP for the Regional Office.

The Regional Office is in the main library of the Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Sénégal. Mr Henri SENE, the University librarian is the Regional Manager, with an assistant Mrs Antoinette Correa, from the Library School of Dakar University.

Running of the office

The Regional Office carried out administrative tasks : exchange of correspondances by mail or e-mail with the members of the Standing Committee of the Africa Section, IFLA members, individuals and institutions in the region and abroad. Informations requested from the Regional Office are mainly on these items :

• ALP Programme and in particular the Bart Nwafor fellowship,
• IFLA conferences and membership procedure
• IFLA publications and information on IFLA activities
• African projects proposed to the Africa Section for funding
• Information about IFLA activities in Africa.

The Regional Office was also responsible for the logistical arrangements for the annual meetings of the Standing Committee of the Africa Section. These meetings took place in February in Cape-Town, South Africa (2001) and Dakar, Sénégal (2002).

Regional Office had to plan the meetings with the officers of the Section, send air tickets to each members of the Standing Committee and make all arrangements with local organisers for the holding of the meetings: venue, hotel accommodation, local transport, etc.

The Regional Office was also in charge of the management of the Bart Nwafor Staff Development Programme. The aim of this programme funded by NORAD is to enable south-south cooperation in the field of the training of human resources for the libraries in the region. In cooperation with the ALP Programme and libraries in Africa , the Regional Office organised the travels and the stay of the Bart Nwafor fellows in their host institutions. These fellows was selected by the Africa Section during the annual regional meetings.

The Regional Office is responsible of the reception of applications forms of the candidates, contacts with the host institutions, contacts with the grantees and ALP Office in Uppsala, and the booking of tickets for the grantees, and reception of their report after their four weeks training.

Cooperation with IFLA HQ

The Regional Office is an extension of IFLA HQ in the region. The main role of the Regional Manager is to be a link between the Federation and the profession in the region through the Regional Standing Committee. That is why, during these two years, the regional manager has been involved in many activities initiated or organised by IFLA HQ, IFLA Core Programmes and IFLA Sections. These activities was:

• Dissemination of professionnal information in the region
• Contacts with institutions or associations in the region
• Translation of IFLA documents (mainly from English to French)
• Logistic support to the organisation of IFLA events in the region : conferences, workshops meetings
• Implementation of IFLA programmes and projects in the region

The Regional Manager attended the IFLA General Conference in Jerusalem (2000) and Boston (2001). As member of the IFLA Regional Division Coordinating Board, the Regional Manager has participated to the meetings held by the Division VIII during these Conferences

Cooperation with the Africa Section

Regional Office has also launched in 2001 and 2002, the call for papers for the open forums of the Section and the Division VIII for IFLA Conferences in Boston and Glasgow. Regional Office received abstracts and papers and had the responsibility to send these documents to each member of the Standing Committee for appraisal before the annual regional meeting of the Standing Committee each year in February. IFLA Regional Office publish regularly tools of information like brochures and leaflets, and have also the responsibility to publish news from Africa Section in IFLANET.

IFLANET

The Regional Manager is the IFLA Information Coordinator in the region. He has the responsibility to send regularly to the Administrator of IFLANET all relevant information on the activities of the Africa Section to be published in IFLANET. In 2001 and 2002 these information has been published in IFLANET

• The names and addresses of the Officers of the Standing Committee newly elected during the Boston Conference
• The strategic plan of the Africa Section for 2002-2003
• The 3 issues of the regional newsletter published in 2001 and 2002
• The JICPA annual report 2002

Regional Newsletter

In 2001 and 2002 the Regional Office published three issues of the Regional Newsletter. In 2001(n°21 and 22) and in 2002 (n° 23) Issue n° 24 will be published at the end of 2002. 350 copies of each issues of the Newsletter were sent out to national associations, national libraries, library schools IFLA members in the region. Copies were also sent to IFLA HQ, ALP Programme and some institutions in Europe and USA. Publication and circulation of this Newsletter are one of the priority of the Regional Office which consequently strives to ensure its regular publication. The regional newsletter is also published in IFLANET.

Cooperation with ALP Programme

In close cooperation with the officers of the ALP Programme, the Regional Office is responsible of the dissemination of information on ALP Programme in the region and the reception of the projects proposals coming from libraries, institutions, associations and sometimes individuals in the region. The task of the Regional Office is to register these projects and to send them to the ALP Programme Office in Uppsala, Sweden and to the members of the Standing Committee in the region for appraisal.

In 2001 and 2002, Regional Office has been involved in the management of the DANIDA Travel Grants in the region : dissemination of information on these grants, management of applications forms and selection of grantees during the annual Regional Section meeting, in conjunction with ALP representative and the officers of the Standing Committee.

As previous years the Regional Office has made for the APL Programme the translation of documents published by this IFLA Core Programme mainly from English to French : annual reports, announcements and other relevant information interresting IFLA members and colleagues in the region and coming from IFLA ALP.

Finally during 2001 and 2002 , the Regional Office has maintained regular and fruitful contacts with IFLA HQ, the Africa Section ,and others IFLA bodies in order to promote the programmes of IFLA in the continent. The Regional Office have also been in contact with professionals and institutions in the region in order to increase their awareness and their involment in IFLA activities at the regional level. We hope that with the assistance of IFLA HQ and our colleagues of Regional Standing Committee, we will be in the the position to further this interest during the forthcoming years.