IFLA AT CRIMEA 2012 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE, 4-10 JUNE 2012
The Crimea International Library Conference celebrated its 19thanniversary in the historic town of Sudak, Crimea, in June 2012. Approximately 1050 librarians and information specialists from 20 countries around the world attended this important conference.
I was invited by IFLA and the Crimea Conference International Organising Committee, to participate in this conference and in particular, in the IFLA 3-day Forum during the conference. The conference was held at the T.O.K. Sudak Conference Centre, which is also a Health and Tourism Resort situated in the coastal town of Sudak on the Black Sea. Sudak celebrates its 1800thanniversary this year. Beautiful gardens, wonderful birdlife and hot sunny weather made attendance at this conference a wonderful experience. The Conference programme can be seen at http://www.gpntb.ru/win/inter-events/crimea2012/eng. Previous years’ proceedings can be found at http://english.gpntb.ru/crimea.html.
Tours for delegates were arranged to various museums and places of interest in the region. A translator translated Russian into English on all the tours and during the conference sessions and activities. I went on a tour to visit a number of literary and art museums and also went on an all day tour to Yalta and various coastal places of interest, including the Nikita Botanical Gardens and the Vorontsov Palace at Alupka, where Winston Churchill stayed during the 1945 Yalta Conference. See this Palace at http://www.travelingwiththejones.com/2011/02/02/destination-discovery-alupka-palace-near-yalta-ukraine/ and the Swallow's Nest - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swallow's_Nest..
I enjoyed a walk along a 2,5km trail along the beautiful coastline at the seaside town of Novui Svet (New Light) and also climbed up to see the Genoese Fortress on the top of the hill overlooking Sudak. This fortress was a stronghold built by the Venetians in the 12th centruy and later rebuilt by the Genoese between 1371 and 1469.
Unfortunately Ingrid Parent, the IFLA President was not able to attend the conference at the last moment due to illness in her family. To ensure that all her welcome speeches and thank you addresses and papers were delivered, I was invited to present on her behalf.
The IFLA Forum Programme was as follows:-
Monday, 4 June 2012
Conference Opening Address: Denise Nicholson on behalf of Ingrid Parent, president of IFLA for the years 2011-2013, University Librarian, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Events included in the IFLA Forum:
- Policy and priorities of IFLA – a seminar for the representatives of the Former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, followed by an IFLA Bazaar on interesting activities
Animator: Francis Kirkwood, on behalf of Ingrid Parent, president of IFLA for the years 2011-2013, University Librarian, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
2. Seminar-Conference “Silk Road 2012” of the IFLA Section on Genealogy and Local History (GENLOC).
Day One. The events of “Silk Road 2012” within the IFLA Forum were dedicated to the 1800th anniversary this year of Sudak, the historic trading port on the Black Sea, where the Crimea Conference is held.
Animators:
Oksana V. Dineeva, Deputy Director of the State Public Historical Library, Moscow, Russia
Elizabeth Melrose, Secretary of the IFLA Committee on Genealogy and Local History, York, England, U.K.
Francis Kirkwood, member of the IFLA Committee on Genealogy and Local History, Ottawa, Canada
Alan Hopkinson, member of the Organising Committee for “Silk Road 2012”, London, England, U.K.
Tuesday, 5 June 2012
3. Program of the IFLA Committee on Copyright and Other Legal Matters CLM)
Animator: Denise Rosemary Nicholson, Copyright Librarian, University of the Witwatersrand, Republic of South Africa
Guest Speakers:
Lyudmila N. Tikhonova, Deputy General Director, Russian State Library, Moscow, Russia and Yakov L. Shraiberg, Director, State Public Library for Science and Technology, Moscow, Russia
I also presented at this session on the “The Treaty on Copyright Limitations and Exceptions for Libraries and Archives” currently under discussion at the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Matters (SCCR).
4. Management of Library Associations under the Auspices of BSLA (the IFLA Program for Building Strong Library Associations)
Organized by: Ukrainian Library Association (I.A. Shevchenko, V.S. Pashkova)
5. Seminar-Conference “Silk Road 2012” of the IFLA Section on Genealogy and Local History (GENLOC).
Day Two. The events of “Silk Road 2012” within the IFLA Forum are dedicated to the 1800th anniversary this year of Sudak, the historic trading port on the Black Sea, where the Crimea Conference is held.
Animators:
Oksana V. Dineeva, Deputy Director of the State Public Historical Library, Moscow, Russia
Elizabeth Melrose, Secretary of the IFLA Committee on Genealogy and Local History, York, England, U.K.
Francis Kirkwood, member of the IFLA Committee on Genealogy and Local History, Ottawa, Canada
Alan Hopkinson, member of the Organising Committee for “Silk Road 2012”, London, England, U.K.
Wednesday, 6 June 2012
6. IFLA Reference Forum. Panel Discussion with Audience Participation
Moderator: Elena V. Lindeman, Deputy Director, State Public Library for Science and Technology, Moscow, Russia
Panelists:
Oksana V. Dineeva, Deputy Director of the State Public Historical Library, Moscow, Russia
Francis Kirkwood, former member of the Standing Committee of the IFLA Section of Reference and Information Services, Ottawa, Canada
7. Seminar-Conference “Silk Road 2012” of the IFLA Section on Genealogy and Local History (GENLOC).
Day Three. The events of “Silk Road 2012” within the IFLA Forum are dedicated to the 1800th anniversary this year of Sudak, the historic trading port on the Black Sea, where the Crimea Conference is held.
Animators:
Oksana V. Dineeva, Deputy Director of the State Public Historical Library, Moscow, Russia
Elizabeth Melrose, Secretary of the IFLA Committee on Genealogy and Local History, York, England, U.K.
Francis Kirkwood, member of the IFLA Committee on Genealogy and Local History, Ottawa, Canada
Alan Hopkinson, member of the Organising Committee for “Silk Road 2012”, London, England, U.K.
All in all, it was a very interesting and informative conference with enjoyable entertainment activities for delegates, as well as colourful opening and closing ceremonies and a finale dinner under the warm Sudak skies.