Mikael Böök

book@kaapeli.fi

"Unlike journalists whose information is only valid for a few days and there after discarded, librarians could gather information in all formats, store it for posterity purposes and disseminate it to those who the WSF represent in the conference – the marginalized groups" (Esther Obachi)

In fact, the biggest challenge for the organizers of the World Social Forum does not consist in defining new and better contents that could lead to even more concrete proposals, but to guarantee the continuity of the form the Forum was given – a case in which the means are determinant for the aim to be reached. (Chico Whitaker)

NIGD's library workshops at the WSF in Mumbai 2004, and at the polycentric WSF in Bamako earlier this year have resulted in a training programme leading to documentation activities.

The first step is a "training of trainers"-workshop in Nairobi, 3-5 July, 2006. The purpose of this workshop is to prepare and train 30 East African librarians for participation in the World Social Forum 20-25 January 2007, and in the WSF process, both as citizens and in their role as information specialists. In the autumn, participants will arrange a series of similar workshops, where librarians prepare for participation in the WSF.

The three-day "Training of trainers"-workshop is arranged under the auspices of the Kenya Library Association (KLA) by a team consisting of, among others, Esther Obachi ( KLA), Mikael Böök (NIGD, Finland), Kingsley Oghojafor (ISC, Nigeria).

Generally, participation in the World Social Forum can be seen as a form of active citizenship, but the librarians also have a professional role to play in the WSF process. While the role of interpreters and translators in the WSF is to help speakers of different languages understand each others, and that of journalists is to spread the news from the WSF to their audiences, librarians should care for the documentation, preservation and presentation of the WSF over a longer period of time.

For background and news on the documentation of WSF by librarians, see nigd/libraries