IFLA Newsletter, June 2025: Innovating through digital access

The message below accompanies the June 2025 edition of the IFLA Newsletter.

On a day like today, about thirty-six years ago, a man named Tim finalised documenting a promising new project and bringing his ideas to life on paper. It took him four years to bring that project from concept to reality at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN), and finally, in 1993, it was ready to be released to the public.

The man in question was Tim Berners-Lee, and the project became known as the World Wide Web.

Sounds familiar? Believe it or not, the ideas that laid the foundation for the Internet as we know it today were met with scepticism at the time. Today, we witness those same ideas still reshaping the way we communicate, how we access information and our interactions. Since then, we have achieved unprecedented levels of interconnectedness, and digital access has become a marker of progress across the world.

In the early days of this digital transformation, its benefits seemed to outweigh the downsides, but as time passed, the tide shifted towards a troubling direction. We now find ourselves at a point of uncertainty, with rising levels of misinformation and disinformation, digital divides expanding, unequal access to information and many other issues fragmenting our well-being and trust in our societies. Who could have predicted this would take such a dark turn?

But fear not – as we stand here today, we invite you to pause and reflect. Not only on how far we’ve come, but also on why the Internet was created in the first place. Conceived since the beginning as a people-centred tool to connect individuals and support quality of life. In the present, these words resonate and remind us of the significant importance of this original vision.

As many Internet-related events approach us in the coming weeks, like the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), UNESCO Global Forum on the Ethics of AI and more, we can’t help but celebrate and remember the work that librarians do every day to help communities make the most of the Internet to improve their lives. In the midst of global conflicts, libraries haven’t stood still in fear but rather moved forward with purpose.

Because of this, we are proud to stand by a network that continues to connect and inform the people who need it most, creating safe and inclusive spaces for learning and dialogue, and ultimately giving individuals the tools to live their lives with dignity in the digital age.

We hope that this month’s content inspires you to continue harnessing the power of a global network that, just like the Internet, is built to empower and help people thrive.

Happy reading! 📖🌐

Maria De Brasdefer
Digital Affairs Policy & Research Officer