Ghana will host the 3rd round table conference for African Ministers responsible for libraries in Accra from October 29-30 this year during which the ministers will deliberate on developments on the provision of library and information services in Africa.
The conference which will be on the theme, “Libraries on the African Development Agenda : Progress made,” will be taking place within the framework of the AU 2063 Agenda, the Charter for African Renaissance and related outcomes of the AU Commission meeting held in Algeria in October 2018.
To be chaired by the Minister of Education, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, the conference aims at providing leadership and guidance on how governments could integrate libraries in their national development plans and ensure the allocation of resources towards the achievement of the development goals.
The conference, which is expected to be attended by participants from 25 countries, 15 of whom are ministers responsible for libraries, is a collaborative effort between the Minister of Education through the Ghana Library Authority (GhLA) and the African Library and Information Associations and Institutions (AFLIA).
Speaking ahead of the conference, the Chief Executive Officer of the GhLA, Mr Hayford Siaw, told the Daily Graphic that there would be a meeting of the National Librarians / Directors of Library Services on October 28, 2019 to consider various interventions which had been made towards the desired goals in the past year.
He explained that on October 30, 2019, a report on the directors’ meeting would be presented as well as reports from the CEO of the GhLA, Mr Siaw, and other bodies on how libraries met the development agenda and the way forward.
Mr Siaw said the conference would serve as a forum for sharing of ideas, innovations and “also to get countries to commit to invest and allocate resources for libraries.”