Addis Ababa 20 May 2019: The African Union Commission (AUC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the African Library and Information Associations and Institutions (AfLIA) to foster closer collaboration between the two institutions, as a strategic move to drive sustainable development of the continent, through education and skills revolution.

The collaboration seeks to encourage a reading culture in the continent and to enhance human intellectual capital, through provision of relevant resources.

At the signing ceremony, the African Union Commission Director of Strategic, Policy, Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation and Resource Mobilization (SPPMERM) Mr. Mesfin Tessema observed that the collaboration would enable a rich provision of books, reference materials and documents that would encourage people to read. “In this era, we need to encourage people to read and that is what we are missing in the world particularly where people are focused more on the internet than the books, we need to educate our young people to take the advantage of reading” he said.

The President of the African Library and Information Associations and Institutions Mr. John Tsebe, on his part, affirmed AfLIA’s keenness to support AU in the realization of the Agenda 2063 aspirations, by using libraries to contribute to the knowledge uptake. “Libraries are drivers of information and knowledge and as you know, knowledge and information is a strategic resources for development” he noted.

The collaboration aligns to the African Union’s “Aspiration 1” of a prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development. Among the Aspiration’s goals, is to develop Africa’s human and social capital through an education and skills revolution emphasizing science and technology.

The MOU seeks to among other aspects, enable collaboration on;

• Enter into a reciprocal free of charge agreement towards the development of African information and knowledge society, national, academic and community libraries with a view to enhancing delivery of the right information to the right person at the right time.
• Development of Library and Information Professional Associations, as promoters and driving force for equitable access to information, knowledge, and innovative services in Africa.

For media inquiries, contact:
Mr. Molalet Tsedeke, Media Center Coordinator; Directorate of Information and Communication; AU Commission. molalett@africa-union.org; Tel: 0911 630631.

Mr.Stephen Kwaku Darko| Information and Communications Officer, Directorate of Information and Communication, African Union Commission | Tel: +251(0) 953406832 | E-mail: DarkoS@africa-union.org