The first official day of IFLA WLIC 2025 welcomed over 1,600 delegates from more than 110 countries to Astana, Kazakhstan, setting an enthusiastic tone for the conference and making local news headlines ahead of the Opening Session. Among the attendees are almost 400 Kazakhstani librarians.
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 read on for some key moments from the first day!
Opening session
The Opening Ceremony was conducted by Masters of Ceremonies, Askhat Aubakirov and Balgyn Orazaly, and included a dance performance by the Viva Show Ballet ensemble and a musical performance by the ethno-folk ensemble SARYN – Adai.
The session also featured a keynote by Oryntai Oshanova, Professor, Head of the UNESCO Chair in Journalism and Communication, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, speeches by Talgat Yeshenkulov, Vice Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Daniel Serzhanuly, Acting Chairman of Kazakh Tourism National JSC, a welcome message by Gulzhan Irzhanova, Chair of the National Committee President of the Association of University Libraries of Kazakhstan, a poem by Olzhas Suleimenov, Poet, Director of the UNESCO International Centre for the Rapprochement of Cultures, and finally a speech from IFLA President Vicki McDonald
If you missed attending, you can access a free recording of the live stream through our YouTube channel.
Photos from this session, and many others, are available on the IFLA Flickr.
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The IFLA-UNESCO School Library Manifesto 2025 in Action
“This session was the first opportunity to bring conference attendees together around the newly updated IFLA-UNESCO School Library Manifesto. Having been endorsed by the Council of the UNESCO Information For All Programme in April 2025, now is the time to put the Manifesto into action.
The session demonstrated that the update is extremely relevant for school libraries in countries around the world and got delegates from school libraries, universities, national library associations and more thinking about ways to use the manifesto in their advocacy. As many school libraries are facing similar challenges, working together just makes sense. I can’t believe that in just a few months, the Manifesto and accompanying poster are published in 20+ languages (and growing) – including Kazakh!”
— Claire McGuire, IFLA Policy and Advocacy Manager
Stories of heroes: Librarian Flash Mob in Astana!
Organised by the IFLA New Professionals Special Interest Group (NPSIG), this WLIC flash mob was all about celebrating OUR HEROS. 🦸
At 18:15 in the Mega Silk Way Mall, a slowly growing flash mob made up of WLIC delegates emerged to celebrate the hero(es) who inspire us through books, actions, and imagination!
“This event was not only engaging, but also a powerful reminder of how libraries and reading can unite people across different cultures and backgrounds. It creates a vibrant atmosphere of shared learning and inspiration, showing the unique role that libraries play in building community spirit. Participating in this flashmob was a truly memorable experience for me, and in the future I would be delighted to organise a similar initiative in my own region to inspire and connect people through the joy of reading.”
— Ruslan Babirov
The event was covered on Kazakh television news, featuring IFLA President-elect Leslie Weir.
Meet our IFLA WLIC 2025 Emerging Leaders
Once again, IFLA is happy to be able to offer support for a range of emerging leaders to participate in our World Library and Information Congress. These individuals not only have the chance to engage and share their perspectives at the world’s most international library event, but will also bring home insights and lessons to their own work. Their participation is made possible through the generosity of the Gates Foundation, via Stichting IFLA Global Libraries.
PLOTY 2025
Gabrielle-Roy Library was awarded the IFLA/Baker & Taylor Public Library of the Year 2025. 🎉
We extend our congratulations to all libraries shortlisted for the award who’ve stood out as an inspiring example of how to completely transform an existing library building with a strong community-centred approach, as well as a wide range of sustainable features.
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Connecting in Astana
Amongst the many lively events happening yesterday at WLIC, three interactive sessions brought together connection, creativity and ideas exchange.
The first, hosted by the IFLA Libraries Serving Multicultural Populations Section and New Professionals SIG, invited participants to explore wellness and intercultural competency through a fun item swap. Guests brought along items share – mugs chocolates – along with their good thinking, to discuss wellness aspects of librarianship. These objects became conversation starters, opening the door to exchanges about library and library professionals’ well-being. There was stretching, discussion and 30-second dance parties, and everyone left with a new item, a new idea, or a new connection.
The Literacy and Reading, Public Libraries and Children & Young Adults session celebrated the joy of reading in an informal, welcoming setting. Participants shared favorite books, a book in progress, or chose a picture book onsite from the World Through Picture Books catalogue for a dedicated reading moment. There were opportunities to discuss stories, exchange ideas in a session that highlighted how books and reading together can spark conversation and connection.
IFLA’s Subject Analysis and Access Section, CPDWL and New Professionals SIG’s session incorporated a fishbowl format for participants to raise questions about AI and share ideas about how it is changing the ways we work. ”Fish” moved in and out of the “bowl” to discuss, comment and share experiences directly with each other, and moved back out of the bowl to listen. As “fish” April Manabat from Kazakhstan asked us to reflect upon during her comments: Is it (AI) friend or foe? Is it a tool? Is it a journey? AI represents something different to each of us.
Acceptance, Ownership & Curiosity: Exploring the emerging roles of library connectivity
In a world where education, work, and civic life are online, libraries must have strong connectivity to remain trusted gateways to information and opportunity, serving the emerging needs of our society. However, this is a mission libraries cannot achieve alone. Why? Collaboration and partnership at various levels of the society (individual, institutions and government) is essential to drive a holistic approach to drive Acceptance, Ownership and Curiosity of the potentials of library connectivity to achieving sustainable development.
The presentations by the speakers during the session shared practical examples of how library connectivity extends to building collaborative engagement as shared about the collaboration between libraries and Post Offices in Zimbabwe, IFLA Partnership with the Universal Postal Union and ongoing efforts on the Libraries Boosting Connectivity Project.
Progressively, achieving a broader progress for library connectivity needs a country level ownership by library associations and institutions to engage and connect with in-country digital ecosystem stakeholders, such as ministry of ICT, Youth ministry, and development partners working on digital inclusion strategies.
Thus, capacity development of librarians on emerging trends and application of these trends to transform libraries as core partners for communities to access opportunities in the digital economy.
Damilare Oyedele
Citizen science and public history
This is the first time I’ve truly seen the connection between citizen science and public history, and interestingly, libraries sit right at the center of it. As Chiara De Vecchis notes, “Public historians consider libraries as partners in their projects.” Just as citizen science invites ordinary people to contribute knowledge, libraries open their doors for public historians to collaborate, access archives, and build narratives that belong to everyone. It becomes clearer when we think about how “Libraries indeed themselves have a natural affinity with public history.” Libraries are naturally inclusive spaces, dedicated to preservation, access, and dialogue; values that echo both citizen science and public history. Perhaps most powerful is that the speaker highlights, “They also can create a social dialog through the registered memory that libraries preserved.” In this sense, libraries are more than memory keepers; they empower communities to reflect, participate, and connect past experiences with present understanding.
Madiareni Sulaiman, Indonesia and UK
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