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The 2003 International Conference of Information Literacy Experts

The Prague Declaration:
“Towards an Information Literate Society”

Overview:
The National Forum on Information Literacy was one of three sponsors for an international leadership conference on information literacy, which was held in Prague, The Czech Republic, in September 2003. The co-sponsors were UNESCO and the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science.

This by-invitation-only conference brought together 40 participants carefully chosen with consideration to geographical representation as well as to the role of information literacy in five sectors: economic development, education, human services, library and information science, and policymaking. Facilitated discussions aroundthese topics will further contribute to knowledge on this important 21st century literacy topic. UNESCO will publish the conference outcomes.


Prague Declaration Information Literacy Experts’ Team

Press Release about the Conference:
Inequities among nations and individuals in today’s Information Society were targeted at a historic, first-of-its-kind meeting in Prague, The Czech Republic, September 20–23, 2003. Forty participants from 23 different countries, representing all seven major geographic regions of the world, met to discuss Information Literacy. With the support of UNESCO, and organized by the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) and the National Forum on Information Literacy (NFIL), participants wrestled with the fundamental challenge of how to empower people to benefit from existing information and communication resources and technologies in an Internet Age.

To date, advancements in information and communication technologies have only increased the divide between the information rich and the information poor. Prague participants acknowledged the need for three elements to improve this situation: 1) ready access to information and communication technologies; 2) unrestricted availability of needed information; and 3) an information literate citizenry. They agreed that an information literacy citizenry is required to mobilize an effective civil society and create a competitive workforce.

For the full press release, click on one of the links below:
Prague Press Release, Word document
Prague Press Release, Adobe Acrobat PDF

The Prague Declaration is available in the following formats:
Prague Declaration, PDF

Report of the Proceedings of the International Conference of Information Literacy Experts:
Prague Report, Word document
Prague Report, Adobe Acrobat PDF


Participant Papers:3
Participant papers are available at:
http://www.nclis.gov/libinter/infolitconf&meet/papers/papers.html

Additional Information:
For more information on the conference, including additional papers and documents, visit:
http://www.nclis.gov/libinter/infolitconf&meet/infolitconf&meet.html

For information on post-conference material and activities, visit:
http://www.nclis.gov/libinter/infolitconf&meet/post-infolitconf&meet/post-infolitconf&meet.html