The Mortenson Centre in collaboration with the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) and the American Library Association (ALA)’s International Relations Committee (IRC) and the Services to Refugees, Immigrants, and Displaced Persons (SRIDP) Sub-Committee ) organized a webinar commemorating World Refugee Day 2025 (June 20). The webinar was held on May 27, 2025, and highlighted the recently published IFLA Guidelines for Libraries Supporting Displaced Persons: Refugees, Migrants, Immigrants, Asylum seekers (December 2024), complemented by presentations on international experiences and/or research on providing library and information services to refugees and other displaced persons, with commentary on how the Guidelines may inform their work.
Speakers:
Despina Gerasimidou, Community Mobilisation and Capacity Building Consultant, IFLA –From Shelves to Shelter: Libraries Making Room for Displaced Communities – IFLA Guidelines
Magdalena Gomulka, Curator, Silesian Library in Katowice, Polish Librarians Association –Ukrainians in Poland: How Did Libraries Help Refugees?
Lisa Hussey, Ph. D., Professor, School of Library and Information Science, Simmons University –School of Leadership Afghanistan (SOLA) Library: Working with Afghan girls in Rwanda
Ana Ndumu, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, College of Information, University of Maryland College Park – Partnerships and power: Reflections on the ILPI Project amid hardline anti-immigrant policies
For the Webinar recording and more information on libraries commemorating World Refugee Day see: https://publish.illinois.edu/projectwelcome/world-refugee-day/world-refugee-day-2025/
