Is information literacy a human right? We will be discussing this at the Current Issues Coffee Club on March 23rd.
Article 19 of The Universal Declaration of Human Right, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 10, 1948 states "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions with interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers "
FAIFE, or Committee of Freedom of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression was created within IFLA to defend and promote the basic human rights defined in Article 19. FAIFE monitors the state of intellectual freedom within the library community world-wide, supports IFLA policy development and co-operation with other international human rights organizations, and responds to violations of free access to information and freedom of expression.
FAIFE supports and co-operates with relevant international bodies, organizations or campaigns such as UNESCO, PEN International, Article XIX, Index on Censorship, IFEX and Amnesty International.
What part did Article 19 play in recent uprisings in Arab countries, if any? Is social media an organizing and information dissemination tool only, or part of the new frontier in realizing Article 19 of the UDHR?
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