The British Council, in collaboration with the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Govt. of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and supported by Department of Public libraries, is implementing a nationwide project titled ‘Libraries Unlimited’ to develop the library sector in Bangladesh. A two-day long policy dialogue started at the British Council premises at Fuller Road from January 23, 2018.
Ashish Kumar Sarker, Director General of Department of Public Libraries inaugurated the opening session along with Barbara Wickham, Country Director, British Council. Kirsty Crawford, Project Director- Libraries Unlimited, British Council and Sarwat Reza, Head of Cultural Centre, British Council were also present in the session.
Institute of Informatics and Development (IID) is a policy partner for this project. Based on the nationwide study, Library Landscape Assessment in Bangladesh, Libraries Unlimited seeks to improve public access to information and knowledge in Bangladesh.
As part of the project’s policy and advocacy strand, British Council with IID as its policy partner will support relevant ministries to develop a shared vision of 21st-century libraries across Bangladesh that embeds the country’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals and provide communities with access to information, knowledge and skills development.
In order to create a shared vision of 21st century libraries, the purpose of this policy dialogue, titled, ‘Libraries Unlimited: Transform libraries, transform lives’, brought together top-level policymakers and thinkers to have a dialogue around prioritising services for public libraries and how to transform these libraries to make them more equipped to meet today’s demand for information and knowledge.
This is the final phase of the series of consultation with various stakeholders to develop a Vision Document for the government of Bangladesh, which will include recommended service suite along with necessary policy recommendation for more modern public libraries in the context of Bangladesh.
