'National Libraries in an African Renaissance' conference holds October 31 -November 2, 2000 in Pretoria

Following the national renewal theme of an African Renaissance anchored on a strategic vision to create a better coordinated library relations, the National Library of South Africa will host a conference aimed, primarily, at the libraries and librarians in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the representatives of the ministries responsible for libraries in the countries which constitute the SADC.

Conference title is "National Libraries in an African Renaissance." The array of issues will cover the dynamics of library science, its challenges, legal deposit, freedom of expression, intellectual property rights, the oral tradition, book development, preservation and promotion of the national published heritage. 

It will hold in Pretoria at the ABSA Conference Centre from October 31 -November 2, 2000. According to Hester van der Walt, member of the conference Steering Committee (Logistics) and corporate communications exec at the National Library of South Africa "the conference is will foster the exchange of information and sharing of library resources into the new millennium.

South Africa's Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology will make the opening address underlining the commitment of government to the development of library sciences in the country, while the first plenary session will be chaired by Prof. Rocky Ralebipi.

Prof. Paul Zeleza, Director, Center for African Studies, University of Illinois will speak on the 'Renaissance, Libraries and Democracy; the challenge of the African Renaissance.'

USAfricaonline.com and USAfrica The Newspaper Founder & Publisher Chido Nwangwu will make a presentation on 'African Libraries and the Challenge of Digital Documentation in the 21st century.'

Synopsis of country reports will be presented by Lianda Martin, Julian Massawe and Godfrey Ncongwane while the summary of issues pinpointed as major concerns will be articulated by the National Librarian of South Africa, Dr. Peter Lor (in pix) and John Tsebe.

Other speakers and topics for the conference include:
Freedom of expression and censorship by Iyavar Chetty, Copyright and intellectual property rights Prof. Hannes Britz, Copyright and licensing of electronic material by Dr. Colin Darch.

On the evening of 1 November, its first anniversary, the National Library will host a celebration of oral culture with a narrator from the Tzaneen Museum. The narrator will give a demonstration of oral history narrations, supported by traditional sculptures. Chris van Vuuren will speak on 'What about oral tradition?'

The issue of heritage awareness will be tackled by Titus Chipangura. Book development policies in Africa will be analyzed by Brian Wafawarowa.

On November 2, Dr. Kay Raseroka will chair a plenary session on recent developments and support structures for libraries in Africa. Afterwards, the issues of 'How to create, correct and improve national library and legal deposit legislation: two case studies' will be presented by Johan Loubser and Dr Peter Lor.

From an institutional perspective, the role of the board of the national library will be articulated by Dr. Lulama Makhubela.

The final day of the conference will feature a workshop on the creation of regional partnerships and the role of the Southern African Development Community to be chaired by Prof. Seth Manaka.

The National Library of South Africa's mission is described in Section 3 of the  National Library Act, No. 92 of 1998; namely: to contribute to socio-economic, cultural, educational, scientific and innovative development by collecting, recording, preserving and making available the national documentary heritage and promoting an awareness and appreciation thereof, by fostering information literacy, and by facilitating access to the world's information resources.

The conference is also being held within the framework of the mission of the National Library, as reflecting three strategic goals: Holding a mirror to the nation, building a bridge to the information society and leveling the playing field for access to information. This conference, the organizers say, should go along way in actualizing those goals. 

The travel, accommodation and conference expenses to cover two delegates from each Southern African country will be covered by generous grants from the South Africa Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology and from NORAD, the Norwegian agency for development cooperation. The events are open to conference delegates, guests and the media. USAfricaonline.com will provide detailed coverage of the conference.

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