Our director Prof. Clara Chu gave the Keynote address at the SCECSAL ( Standing Conference of Eastern, Central & Southern African Library & Information Associations) conference on April 22, 2024. Her keynote was titled: “Our Libraries and Our Communities in the Digital Era: Re-imagining Services with Intention.” The conference was hosted by the Kenya Library Association whose chair person is an alumnus of the Mortenson Center, Prof. Peter Gatiti. He is the Associate vice-provost and University Librarian at the Aga Khan University (AKU).
The 2023 Mortenson Center Associates had a mid-term post program review meeting on Zoom with the Mortenson Center Team. The associates each had a chance to share the PDP (Professional Development Plans) from the program and provided an update on their implementation, including challenges and opportunities they had encountered in implementing the projects. Some of the challenges included a lack of funding and issues related to time management while some of the opportunities mentioned included buy-in from administration and thus securing funding for the projects, and opportunities for networking and more travel outside of their countries. The associates expressed a desire to stay connected with zoom meetings at least quarterly. Vuyo Jamieson, the center’s Research Assistant and PhD student at the iSchool is working on some Alumni Engagement initiatives that will ensure former associates stay engaged and connected beyond their time at the center. The projects the associates are working on are varied and are listed below:
Congratulations to our 2023 Associates! Thank you all for participating and supporting the program as we learn to collaborate, develop meaningful connections and services, and employ new technologies in library spaces. We are hopeful that our Associates as leaders in libraries will pave ways for innovation and advancement. They all have demonstrated the foundational professional values of librarianship, connecting and empowering others through information.
The Mortenson Center for International Library Programs and the ALA Student Chapter, Illinois iSchool hosted a hybrid workshop on libraries and advancing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. 
