For development: Davao City library among 20 selected in the world

THE Davao City Public Library is now at par with international libraries after it was among the 20 selected from among the 120 applications from around the world.
In Thursday morning’s I-Speak press forum, city librarian Nora Fe Alajar said she recently attended a foreign workshop and conference in Washington, District of Columbia how the city library can be turned into the most modern and most effective tool to reach many people.
“It really gave me more insights on how to apply these development practices in our setting. I was also able to share and stimulate ideas worldwide by interacting with other participants,” Alajar said.
Only Davao City from the entire country was given the opportunity to participate in the event, all expenses paid.
Alajar said that this came after she sent an application, which was later approved, to Beyond Access funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that brings together the fields of libraries and development.
Other countries selected were Bhutan, Uganda, Kyrgyztan, Zambia, Nepal, Serbia, Venezuela, Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana, Brazil and Peru.
“Beyond Access is working to show funders and governments that libraries are a valuable development partner,” said Ari Katz, director of International Research Exchange (IREX), the partner of Gates Foundation.
Katz, who also guested at the press briefing Thursday morning, said that it was really their purpose to make public libraries more accessible to a lot of people and they are here to finalize ways on how they can fund priority projects.
He said that their group provides leadership and innovative programs to improve the quality of education, strengthen independent media and foster pluralistic civil society development.
Katz said IREX receives funding from both private and public donors, including the US Department of State, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), World Bank and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Dr. Angelo Ramos, president of the Philippine-Community Network (Phil-CNet), whose group is also a partner in implementing the project, said that among of their chosen priorities are economic opportunities, specifically access information to look for jobs, skills trainings, and business start-ups.
Ramos said that this would really be a big help, especially for people who don’t have any access to the internet to look for job opportunities.