Ahead of the United Nations Summit of the Future, due to be held in September in New York, the UN Civil Society Conference takes place on 9 and 10 May 2024 in Nairobi, Kenya. This will focus specifically on gathering contributions for the Summit, but also on strengthening connections between the UN and civil society in general.

For libraries, the key goals are to underline the strength and breadth of our contribution not only to the UN’s 2030 Agenda (which includes the SDGs), but to the full range of issues addressed by the UN and wider multilateral system. Better decision making, based on evidence, is vital at all levels, from the UN itself to communities and individuals.

With the UN’s work on information integrity, there is a welcome recognition of why access to reliable, accurate and verifiable information matters, but this needs to become part of the UN’s work in general, and lead to a strong, positive and people-centred approach to building informed societies.

A specific further goal is to build momentum behind the idea of a culture goal in any future development agendas, an objective that the Pact for the Future (to be agreed at the Summit for the Future) can help advance.

IFLA is proud to be represented at the event by Nerisa Kamar and Purity Kavuri of Kenya.