Partnerships – Mortenson Center for International Library Programs

World Refugee Day Webinar

Posted on July 17, 2025 by Peggy Nzomo

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/

SILL Training Workshop offered by Bibliotheca Alexandrina at AlMaadi Public Library, Cairo, Egypt

Posted on August 22, 2024 by Peggy Nzomo

Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria, Egypt provided a second SILL (Strengthening Innovative Library Leaders) workshop on August 21-22 at AlMaadi Public Library, Cairo, Egypt. The training was offered in person, and in both Arabic and English. Thank you Samia Abouhany, Sara Elgabalawy and Heba Eldeek for facilitating the workshop.

SILL Training with Bibliotheca Alexandrina

Posted on February 20, 2024 by Vuyokazi Jamieson

The Mortenson Center partnered with Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria, Egypt, in providing the first in-person SILL (Strengthening Innovative Library Leaders) training since the pandemic.

When: February 13 – 14, 2024
Time: 10:30AM- 4:00PM each day
Where: Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria, Egypt
Format: In-person
Cost: Free for all invited/ registered participants
Language of Instruction: Arabic/ English

Congratulations to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina Professional Development Division for hosting and presenting the workshop, by the local team of organizers and facilitators: Joseph Makkar (lead facilitator), Samia Abouhany, Sara Elgabalawy and Neveen Nagy (co-facilitator).

To learn more about SILL Training and find more resources visit our website at: https://www.library.illinois.edu/mortenson-leadership/about/

International visits and Collaborations: Rwanda and Kenya- July 10-21, 2023

Posted on July 10, 2023 by Vuyokazi Jamieson

The Mortenson Center Team- Prof. Dr. Clara Chu and Dr. Peggy Nzomo had an opportunity to attend and present at the Peace Education Conference held in Kigali, Rwanda. While there, they took the opportunity to visit several libraries in Rwanda and Kenya and discussed potential collaborations with the Mortenson Center.

Kenya Visits included:

Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya: School of Information; University Library
University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya: Department of Information studies; University Library
Key School Libraries: St. Joan’s Academy; Little Lambs School; Kapsabet Boys High School
Kenya Library Association
Kenya National Library Services
Technical University of Kenya