STORYTELLING LIBRARIES activities and main challenges towards the active

involvement of local communities

Baiba MoļņikaEducation Programme Director

Latvian National Commission for UNESCO17.10.2011

THE ROLE OF LIBRARIES TODAY- Institution of knowledge

- Community centres for local people (to meet, learn news, develop skills)

- Brings together different generations, social levels and explore old traditions and to merge them with nowadays gospels.

- Dynamic partner for governmental and non-governmental organizations

The inniative of UNESCO LNC “STORYTELLING LIBRARIES”

- Founded in year 2009- Network consist of 19 libraries around the

Latvia (Regional libraries, children libraries, foreign libraries, school libraries etc.)

- AIM: To vitalize the tradition of storytelling as an important part of Latvian intangible cultural heritage and as an important part of contemporary work in the daily lives of the libraries as means to consolidating and bringing together local communities

MAIN FIELDS OF ACTIVITIES

• Storytelling events• World @ your library• Making a link between UNESCO and local

community

STORYTELLING EVENTS

More than 250 events since beginning of year 2010

favorite books

hobbies pets talants travel adventures local history holidays

humor-stories

Once upon a time traditions

WORLD @ YOUR LIBRARY• In the year 2010 Latvian National Commission

for UNESCO in cooperation with The Library Association of Latvia has launched the campaign “World @you library”

• With this campaign Latvia for the first time joins the world

• campaign @ your library,

2010WORLD @ YOUR LIBRARY

Aim: To promote the value of libraries in modern society, to acquire its resources and unlimited opportunities

30 libraries from Latvia

Canada Venezuela

Latvia Australia Iceland Denmark Egypt Azerbaijan Georgia China Africa

2010WORLD @ YOUR LIBRARY

• Organized story telling, reading, painting, quiz afternoons

• Enabled discourse between libraries and people in selected states and cultures, watch animation films of other countries.

• Organized other activities, which motivated children and young adults to find out something about the culture of different nations by using library resources.

World @ Your Library 2011 ”UNESCO World heritage”

• to promote Latvian libraries as a modern information resource

• to invite children and young people to learn about other countries and cultures by reading books and maps band using all the resources available at the library

• to promote understanding about the world heritage (based on UNESCO’s world heritage list) in the context of values of culture and nature in Latvia http://whc.unesco.org/en/list

Selected World Heritage: Rapa Nui National Park Chile

• Facts about the object (site, distance from Latvia or hometown, history, relevance)

• Stone sculptures in the shape of a philosopher’s head

• Pictures• Travelers’ experience

Selected Local Heritage: Īvānu Velnakmens

• Similarities (both heritage sites cannot be dated back to a certain period)

• Differences (the park in Chile is made by men, but the stone is of natural origin)

• Promote local heritage on the basis of world heritage

• Experience for library visitors• Travelers’ experience

Linking

• To celebrate international UNESCO days and years

• To inform local people about UNESCO aims and UNESCO LNC main activities in Latvia

• Developing a cros-sectorial platform ( e.g. education and culture)

Challenges

• International cooperation

• Living library

• Homepage www.stastubibliotekas.com

More information:www.unesco.lvbaiba@unesco.lv