IFLA 2008 Grant for Librarians from Developing Countries

Here is an excellent opportunity for Caribbean librarians and others from developing countries. For full information on the Bibliomondialis grant see the IFLA website. Below is a very brief description of the requirements.


Grant

Financial support program for International Library Science and Information Sciences Activities, including a Busary for Program for Delegates from Developing Countries to allow them to attenf the annual confernces of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)

Context and objectives

In the Spring of 2007, ASTED and the Canadian Library Association ("CLA") worked together to establish a charitable organization, called Bibliomondialis : Partenaires canadiens pour des échanges en milieu documentaire / Bibliomondialis: Canadian Partners for Library Bridge-Building, referred to below as Bibliomondialis which will launch its activities during the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA's) 2008 World Library and Information Congress (WLIC) in Quebec City.

The goals of Bibliomondialis are to promote and encourage the participation of delegates from developing countries in IFLA conferences, to increase participation in national and international library science seminars and to encourage and support research focusing on international library science issues.

To this end, Bibliomondialis is implementing bursary programs for research development and participation in events relating to IFLA.

The mission of Bibliomondialis is therefore to raise and manage funds to financially support international library development. For 2008, the goal is to set up a bursary program to assist delegates from developing countries to participate for the first time in the 2008 WLIC Conference in Quebec City, and thereafter in subsequent IFLA-sponsored conferences.

After 2008, the goal of Bibliomondialis is not only to encourage Canadian colleagues and colleagues in developing countries to participate in international activities such as World Congresses, but also to provide financial support for research, study or development projects that focus on international issues.

The Bibliomondialis bursary program is not intended to duplicate but to complement other similar bursary programs that may be offered by IFLA, its French committee, other IFLA national groups or any other organizations associated with IFLA. The program will not offset or provide a substitute for these programs and a candidate that is receiving complete financial support from IFLA or one of its committees or, for example, the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie ("OIF"), will not be eligible for the Bibliomondialis program, or receive support from the program.

Bibliomondialis may however provide additional financial support required by a candidate receiving only partial support through one of the above-mentioned programs.

The program is promoted and supported by IFLA. It will be managed exclusively by Bibliomondialis.

General Information
Each year, depending on budgetary availability, Bibliomondialis will select a certain number of eligible candidates and provide them with financial support. The number of bursaries awarded will be fixed on an annual basis and announced by the Bibliomondialis Board of Directors.

A candidate that receives support one year from Bibliomondialis may receive it for a second year only, and to the extent that there is a budgetary availability and in accordance with the quality of the candidature submitted, including the submission of a complete report on the recipient's professional activities in the period following the previous IFLA conference.

The program is open to individuals from countries recognized by IFLA as developing countries in accordance with the following procedures:

The maximum bursary to be given to a candidate chosen by Bibliomondialis shall be five thousand dollars Canadian (CDN $ 5,000).

One (1) bursary shall be reserved for an application from an eligible candidate from a library or university resource centre from a Francophone country. (In relation to the granting of this bursary, the selection committee must include two (2) members of the former Association des bibliothèques universitaires de la Francophonie).
One or more bursaries may be reserved in 2008 for one or more eligible candidates from the Caribbean or South America.

The bursary will include the following:

Bibliomondialis will pay for the reservation and cost of up to a maximum of eight hundred Canadian dollars ($ 800) for the recipient's accommodation for eight (8) nights (before, during and one (1) day after the conference).

The bursary should be used to pay the conference registration fees (a maximum of six hundred and forty dollars Canadian ($ 640 for the 2008 conference) and the cost of meals and local transportation (at the conference location) for eight (8) days for a maximum of seven hundred dollars Canadian ($7 00), at a per diem rate of one hundred dollars Canadian ($100) delivered in person by Bibliomondialis.

The bursary will pay for airfare transportation from Europe or Asia, the Caribbean or Latin or South America, in economy class.

Bibliomondialis encourages each candidate to obtain additional financing from other programs or institutions and this will be taken into consideration amongst the selection criterion for candidates and awarding bursaries.