DAY TWO SUMMARY
Day two of the Congress continued with ideas, dialogue, and celebration among delegates gathered in Astana, Kazakhstan, from around the world!
We’re bringing you the excitement in real time! Follow our live coverage on Instagram and Facebook to catch the highlights as they happen, and continue reading for some key moments from the second day of the Congress!
Cultural Evening in Astana
Last night’s Cultural Evening offered attendees a vibrant celebration of Kazakh heritage, live music, and cuisine. The event brought together participants from around the world in a joyful exchange of traditions and stories and created a cozy atmosphere to celebrate culture, connections, and the library field together.
“The evening had a special dress code — national attire, and it was truly inspiring to see colleagues proudly presenting our cultural heritage through traditional costumes. The hall was filled with colors, music, and performances.”
— Ruslan Babirov
IFLA Green Library Award winners selected!
IFLA’s Environment, Sustainability and Libraries Section (ENSULIB) is pleased to announce the winners of the IFLA Green Library Award 2025. The IFLA Green Library Award was established in 2016 by ENSULIB (SIG). The Award 2025 is generously sponsored by Library Juice Academy and De Gruyter Publishing.
Read about the winners in the full news release.
Becoming Climate Empowerment Champions
IFLA was excited to welcome two colleagues from Central Asia Policy Studies CAPS Unlock, who helped lead an interactive session to inspire libraries to take the first steps towards getting involved in climate action. The session stressed that climate education, access to information, and participation are parts of international climate policy.
We heard an example from Türkiye of how libraries are truly becoming community spaces for local climate action. CAPS Unlock shared their creative and emotionally powerful project, Turn It Around Cards. These cards are designed by children and young people with drawings that capture their thoughts on the climate crisis. These cards provide a strong jumping-off point for starting conversations. We broke into groups and imagined ideas for library initiatives that could address the issues on the cards. Ideas included using music and song to share feelings, engaging young people as climate “warriors”, designing programming around the library’s operational greening efforts, and linking culture, identity and heritage to climate education. Together, we can help turn it around!”
– Claire McGuire, IFLA Policy and Research Manager
IFLA Member Focus Group meets in Astana
IFLA hosted a pilot Member Focus Group session on 19 August, as a follow-up to our recent Member Sentiment Survey. The survey results provide a comprehensive snapshot of member perspectives across all regions and membership types.
During the session, individual, association, and institutional members from all IFLA regions created a lively exchange of ideas, sharing valuable perspectives on how we can strengthen membership services. This pilot marks the starting point for a series of virtual focus groups that will roll out in the coming months, engaging IFLA members worldwide. The thoughtful comments and constructive ideas we heard yesterday will guide these conversations. Thank you to everyone who took part – your voices are shaping the future of IFLA membership!
Poster Sessions are open!
Over 130 posters were presented at yesterday’s Poster Session. Presenters were eager to explain and share their ideas with the visitors who took the time to look, listen and learn about other library professionals’ initiatives from all around the world. The area quickly became a hub for sharing ideas and celebrating creativity.
“At the IFLA WLIC 2025 Congress, I had the chance to explore many inspiring posters at the poster session. I was glad to see projects from colleagues around the world — from innovative reading initiatives to community programs and digital technologies. Their creativity and dedication were truly inspiring and gave me many new ideas that I can apply in future exhibitions.” — Ruslan Babirov
55 IFLA WLIC 2025 Grantees in Astana!
This year’s IFLA Congress is buzzing with 55 amazing grant winners, all on their Changemakers’ Journey! You’ll spot them with a big heart on their ID badge ❤️ exploring the conference, diving into sessions, meeting fellow librarians, and gathering ideas to share back home with their communities.
Some have already found their “conference buddies”, while others are presenting posters, speaking in sessions, or stepping up as emerging leaders. Many come from our association and institutional members and are already active in their own library communities – we hope this experience helps them build even further on that.
Our grantees come from around the world, with a special focus on Central Asia, making this their very first IFLA experience. Let’s give them a warm welcome and make the Congress unforgettable!
Mainstreaming Futures Thinking
“The IFLA Trend Report 2024 and its Skills Agenda urge libraries to embrace futures thinking and foster genuine co-creation, especially with emerging leaders. Trends interconnect, shaping our libraries’ capacity to adapt and innovate. A notable example is The Danish Think Tank – Libraries of the Future, which partners with young professionals to inform strategy and programming. By actively involving millennials and younger voices in decision-making, mentorship, and digital collaboration, libraries can stay relevant and resilient”.
– Madiareni Sulaiman
Keynote session with Dr. Bertil Emrah Oder: Gender equality, civic engagement, and sustainable development
I had the privilege of attending the session “Gender Equality, Resilience and Sustainable Development” led by Prof. Dr. Bertil Emrah Oder, UNESCO Chair for Gender Equality and Sustainable Development (Türkiye). It was a truly insightful experience. The session highlighted the great efforts being made to foster gender equality. While many challenges still remain, a comprehensive and collaborative approach offers real solutions.
As a librarian, I believe libraries play an important role in this process — by ensuring open access to knowledge, creating inclusive spaces, and supporting initiatives that promote equal opportunities for all.
— Ruslan Babirov
Become an IFLA Member: benefit from our year-end membership offer by joining now!
Did you know that if you join NOW as an IFLA member or affiliate, you pay at the 2025 rate, and your fee will cover your membership for the rest of the year and all of 2026!
Read on to find out more about how to become an IFLA Member
