Regional Division of Latin America and the Caribbean (IFLA LAC) Celebrates Mid-Term Meeting and Regional Seminar in Brasília

On April 2 and 3, 2025, the Regional Division of Latin America and the Caribbean of IFLA (IFLA LAC) held its Mid-Term Meeting in Brasília, with invaluable support from the Brazilian Institute of Information in Science and Technology (IBICT), a beacon of Latin American librarianship, represented by Ricardo Crisafulli Rodríguez and its director, Tiago Braga.

Additional backing came from the Supreme Court of Justice, the Library of the Chamber of Deputies, the Library of the Federal Senate, the Regional Council of Librarianship – First Region, and companies such as EBSCO, Bibliothek, vLEX, PressReader, and Rio Banqueteria.

The regular meetings, chaired by Jeannette Lebrón Ramos, took place at the IBICT library. During these sessions, the Action Plan was reviewed, work reports from IFLA LAC and the Regional Office were presented, and updates on the objectives of working groups were provided, projecting until July 2025.

Participants included Christian Arguedas (Costa Rica), Marisela Castro (Mexico), Hugo Morales Bellido (Bolivia), Yiannitzah Jacobus (Curaçao), Evangelina Cabrera (Paraguay), Ricardo Crisafulli Rodrigues (Brazil), María Silvia Lacorazza (Argentina), Jeannette Lebrón (Puerto Rico), and Isela Mo Amavet (Regional Office – Argentina) and Jonathan Pleitez (ABES, El Salvador) in person. Virtually, Alejandra Vélez (Colombia), Verónica Maigua (Ecuador), María Angélica Fuentes (Chile), Adriana Ferreira (Brazil), Cecilia Izquierdo (Argentina), Rosa García (Colombia), Georgina Torres (Mexico), and Miguel Viciedo (Cuba) joined. Also present was Yamila Cortenova from the LAC Regional Office.

A key highlight was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between IFLA LAC and IBICT, signed by Jeannette Lebrón Ramos and Tiago Braga. This agreement establishes a cooperation alliance between IFLA LAC and the Integrated and Sustainable Development Observatory (ODIS), led by Cecilia Leite and Wal Moraes. The goal of ODIS is to strengthen informational integration, cultural heritage preservation, knowledge production, and international cooperation for the benefit of Latin American and Caribbean countries.

This significant moment was attended by notable figures such as Elisabeth Carvallo (former president of the IFLA Regional Office), Emir José Suaiden, Cecilia Leite (former IBICT directors), Wal Moraes (ODIS coordinator), and Roberto Servidio (Organizing Committee of WLIC 2004 in Argentina). We were also joined by library science students involved in ODIS project work.

Another important discussion was about Brazil’s bid to host WLIC 2027. The Division conversed with Brazilian colleagues about this proposal, emphasizing the importance of holding an IFLA Congress in the region. A work plan was outlined to coordinate institutional and regional support. Jeannette Lebrón, Isela Mo Amavet, and Ricardo Crisafulli Rodrigues met with Cintia Mari Hayashi and Vinicius Pujol from the tourism sector (Embratur) and visited the Brasília Convention Center with colleagues leading the bid.

The busy week also included the Division’s participation in two academic events organized during Librarian Month in Brazil. One was the 1st International Symposium on Libraries and Innovation, hosted by the Supreme Court of Justice on March 31 and April 1, focusing on digital innovation and artificial intelligence, key initiatives for the development of Brazilian libraries. In this context, Chair Jeannette Lebrón Ramos delivered a talk on using AI tools to enhance library work, particularly emphasizing non-traditional tasks undertaken by information professionals. The event recording is available at this link.

On April 3, the Division held the Regional Seminar focused on Data Protection, organized by the Library of the Chamber of Deputies along with Ricardo Crisafulli. The opening remarks were made by Janice Silveira, director of the Library of the Chamber of Deputies, featuring presentations from André Freites (Chamber of Deputies of Brazil), Jonathan Pleitez (ABES, El Salvador), and Christian Arguedas (COPROBI, Costa Rica), members of IFLA LAC, moderated by Chair Jeannette Lebrón.

This event in Brasília reaffirmed the commitment of the IFLA Regional Division for Latin America and the Caribbean to strengthen collaborative work among libraries, information professionals, and allied institutions in the region. We thank everyone who made this successful day of work and regional cooperation possible.