At the 18th Congress of Southeast Asian Librarians (CONSAL), Malaysia agreed to host CONSAL XIX. Following from that, the National Library of Malaysia and the Librarian’s Association of Malaysia, also known as the Persatuan Pustakawan Malaysia (PPM) formed the CONSAL XIX Organising Committee to host CONSAL XIX in Kuala Lumpur from 16th to 19th June 2025. With the theme Inclusive Knowledge: Bridging Divides, Empowering All and the tagline “Leveraging Inclusivity, Empowering Humanity”, the focus is on inclusivityand the provision of equal access and resources to everyone.

The official logo for CONSAL XIX was released at PPM’s 68th Annual General Meeting held on 14 May 2024. It was designed by Ms Nor Ezwathy Mohd Bahror from the Department of Information Malaysia.

Logo of CONSAL XIX

The logo is fashioned after the hibiscus or the Bunga Raya, the national flower of Malaysia. The ten stigmas represent the ten countries of ASEAN which are represented in CONSAL.  The petals, shaped like the open pages of books, symbolise Malaysia’s commitment and dedication to foster a reading culture for the nation. Different shades of the colour blue and white are used to represent the unity and close cooperation of the ten countries. Blue and white are also the official colours of CONSAL.

The various committees formed under the CONSAL XIX Organising Committee held numerous meetings and are actively working towards organising a successful meeting and conference. The venue for CONSAL XIX is the World Trade Center (WTC) situated in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. The Call for Abstracts was released on mid-September 2024 and when it ended on 10 January 2025, the Organising Committee received 237 abstracts. The abstracts were reviewed by a panel of reviewers from CONSAL member countries and by 21 February 2025, 96 abstracts were selected for presentations for sub-themes 1 to 4 and 20 abstracts for the Pecha Kucha Session.

Meetings with potential sponsors and venue operators

A tentative programme has been drawn up. The 19th CONSAL 3rd Executive Board Meeting will be held on 16 June 2025, and this will be followed by the 19th CONSAL Executive Board Workshop: Restructuring a Strategic Roadmap for CONSAL. Concurrently, there will be the 19th CONSAL Pre-Conference Workshop: Understanding Artificial Intelligence. CONSAL participants can choose to attend this Workshop at no extra charge.

Conference Fees

The opening ceremony will be held on 17 June 2025 and will begin with a speech from the Chair of 19th CONSAL General Conference and Meeting. This will be followed by a speech and the opening ceremony by the Guest of Honour. Awards will then be presented for the CONSAL Young Librarian Award 2025 and the CONSAL Outstanding Librarian Award 2025 (Gold, Silver and Bronze). On completion of the opening ceremony, there will be a keynote address and the presentation of country reports by Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Timor Leste. A dinner will be held on the night of 17 June 2025 to welcome all participants to Kuala Lumpur.

Throughout the 17 to 18 June 2025, 96 papers will be presented over 16 concurrent sessions for four sub-themes and a Pecha Kucha Postgraduate Forum Session.

  1. Sub-theme 1: The changing roles of libraries from gatekeeping to empowerment and fostering inclusivity in society
  2. Sub-theme 2: Bridging divides through SDGs as libraries make the impossible, possible.
  3. Sub-theme 3: Building knowledge ecosystems for the disabled and marginalised.
  4. Sub-theme 4: Libraries as partners forging new synergies in community development.
  5. Pecha Kucha Postgraduate Forum

On 18 June 2025, CONSAL XIX will come to a close. Closing remarks will be made by the Co-Chair of CONSAL XIX and this will be followed by the handing over of the CONSAL flag to host of 20th CONSAL and an acceptance speech.

Tentative Programme

A Tourism and Library Visit will be held on 19 June 2025. The Organising Committee has arranged for four distinct packages – Amazing KL, Enchanting Shah Alam, Stunning Petaling Jaya and Exquisite Negeri Sembilan. These packages will showcase libraries with the Klang Valley and the state of Negeri Sembilan. CONSAL participants can choose to participate in the any one of these packages for a nominal fee.

Tourism and Library Visits

Kuala Lumpur is looking forward to welcome everyone for CONSAL XIX.

Contributed by Dr Nor Edzan Che Nasir, Member of CONSAL XIX Organising Committee