Libraries commit to Agenda 2030 and the SDGs with drafting of ‘Santiago Declaration’

During the second meeting of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development,  held in Santiago, Chile, the Hernán Santa Cruz Library (ECLAC) and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) organized a side event entitled ‘The importance of Access to information to achieve sustainable development in Latin America and the Caribbean’.

The Forum was created by ECLAC as a regional mechanism for monitoring and reviewing the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This mechanism offers civil society a participatory platform that allows influence over the decision making, planning and policy implementation of the governments of the region.

In this context, the draft proposal for the 'Santiago Declaration' was presented  with the purpose of reaffirming that libraries are essential instruments in the access to information and are strategic partners for compliance with the 2030 Agenda and the implementation of the SDGs.

We invite library associations, professional networks, and representatives of organized civil society to join forces and provide input to the Declaration in this prior to August 1, 2018. Your participation in this consultation process will help define a regional position of libraries regarding the 2030 Agenda when the Declaration is presented at the United Nations High Level Political Forum (HLPF 2019).

We are grateful to send your comments in English to  Stephen Wyber (Stephen.Wyber@ifla.org).

After August 1, 2018, the organizers of this initiative will work on a new version of the document, incorporating the approved comments, finally inviting all stakeholders to sign the Declaration.