Conference Calls on ECA to Establish an African Digital Library and Archives Programme.
ECA Press Release No. 38/2009
Addis Ababa, 06 July 2009 (ECA) - The First International Conference on African Digital Libraries and Archives, has called on the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) to establish an African Digital Library and Archives Programme as a matter of urgency. The call came at the end of the conference that took place at ECA head office in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 1 – 3 July.
The Conference heard that many African think-tanks and reputable knowledge centres generate a wealth of information that is inaccessible to policy makers. This is due to the fact that no systematic storage and retrieval system exists. Consequently, policy makers are not making optimal use of existing knowledge to improve policies and development prospects.
The Conference therefore called on ECA, in partnership with the African Development Bank and NEPAD Secretariat, to spearhead the formulation of comprehensive policies, a strategic framework and a road map for digitizing knowledge; and for developing libraries and archives on the African continent.
Once established, the programme will prioritise the need to capture and disseminate indigenous knowledge. Research shows the positive role of indigenous knowledge in the formulation and implementation of sustainable development policies and projects in developing countries. However, indigenous knowledge does not receive the attention it deserves in many African countries.
The programme will also showcase indigenous knowledge by making it internationally known and popular. This will help integrate African knowledge - as expressed in arts, agriculture, medicine, music, arts and crafts - into global technologies; and ensure that the knowledge is adequately preserved and stored for the benefit of future generations.
Another key priority area the conference identified for urgent action is the need to develop an integrated open access information platform for Africa. The system, once developed, will permit the sharing of knowledge across partnering countries and promote the establishment of a continental digital library/portal mirrored in all African countries.
In this regard, governments and institutions were urged by the conference to ensure sustainable funding for archiving and dissemination of information.
The full report will be available on www.uneca.org/icadla1
Issued by the ECA Information and Communication Service P.O. Box 3001
Addis Ababa Ethiopia
Tel: 251 11 5445098 Fax: +251-11-551 03 65 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.uneca.org
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