ALADIN welcomes five new members:
The Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Egypt:
The Bibliotheca Alexandrina aims to be a centre of excellence in the production and dissemination of knowledge and a place of dialogue, learning and understanding between cultures and peoples. It comprises a main library, nine specialized libraries, 13 academic research centres, four museums and 15 permanent exhibitions. The Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a general public library, which also hosts a specialized collection of print and electronic resources about literacy in the Arab world.
The Non-Formal Education Development Centre (NFEDC) in Lao PDR:
The NFEDC Resource Centre offers many opportunities for adult and non-formal education in Laos. For example, its library provides access to quality teaching and learning materials for educators working in the non-formal sector in Lao PDR, and conducts training and discussion workshops. Through the promotion of lifelong learning, the centre enables non-formal educators to acquire, share and expand the knowledge and skills they need to fulfil their training aspirations and to contribute to their communities.
READ began working in Bhutan in 2008 with the goal of transforming rural communities by creating access to information and resources, and by building a culture of reading. With the help of its partner communities, READ has established nine rural community libraries in the country, known as READ centres. Bhutan has one of the lowest literacy rates in Asia. Before READ established its first centre there, there was only one public lending library in the entire country.
Uganda Community Libraries Association (UgCLA):
The Uganda Community Libraries Association is a networking organization for community libraries in Uganda. It became a national non-governmental organization in 2007 and now has more than 100 member libraries. UgCLA’s mission is to complement the education system of Uganda and promote the development of productive literacy practices by encouraging and supporting the growth of community libraries.
Uganda Rural Literacy and Community Development Association (URLCODA):
The Uganda Rural Literacy and Community Development Association is a local non-governmental organization, which coordinates a network of 16 community libraries in the West Nile region of Uganda. Its ‘mother’ library is located in Lokotoro Village (Aroi sub-county, Arua district). It serves as a meeting place for members to access information, mostly related to the improvement of rural livelihoods, via books, videos, newspapers, magazines, etc., and to engage in a range of activities. It also runs intergenerational skills learning programmes for members.
