UNESCO General Conference 2013

The IFLA Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Recommendations and the Libraries Serving People with Print Disabilities (LPD) Manifesto were passed at the 37th UNESCO General Conference held in Paris (5-20 November 2013).

Member States will now be asked to endorse both pieces on a national level and are encouraged to apply the policies set out in the Recommendations and the Manifesto to their community to further their citizens’ access to information.

The Media and Information Literacy Recommendations highlight the need for training and education to use the information resources available. Without the necessary, knowledge, skills and attitudes, people will not be able to gain access to and benefit from information relevant to them and develop to their highest potential.

Great to have this UNESCO endorsement. While the Marrakech Treaty improves the legal framework, the Manifesto expresses the political will to include everybody in the information stream. Treaty and Manifesto work well together, like two hands washing each other. The real benefit is the inclusion of all persons, including those who cannot read print, into our information society “

Koen Krikhaar, Chair, IFLA Libraries Serving Persons with Print Disabilities Section

UNESCO’s encouragement for Member States to endorse the IFLA MIL Recommendations will provide the impetus for multi-stakeholder efforts to promote and pursue media and information literacy and lifelong learning at all levels of society “

Sharon Mader, Chair, IFLA Information Literacy Section

The Libraries Serving People with Print Disabilities Manifesto stresses the importance of making books, newspapers and other information available in all formats in order to include print disabled people into the information society.

The passing of the Manifesto at the UNESCO conference follows the endorsement of the Treaty for the Visually Impaired in June by the World Intellectual Property Organisation in Marrakech.