Opening of the IFLA World Library and Information Congress Exhibition

Speech by Minister of the Western Cape Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport, Anroux Marais

President of the International Federation of Library Associations

International delegates

National delegates

Western Cape Library Services

Distinguished guests

A warm welcome to the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape as a whole.

It gives me great pleasure to be a part of the 81^st World Library and Information Congress as it sets the international agenda for library services and opens opportunities for partnerships and professional development. This congress also develops strong libraries which in turn enables strong communities and societies.

The exhibitions taking place until the 21^st August is significant to participate in as it is important for us to continuously improve our library services as it plays a pivotal role in education and facilitating access to information. It is also important for us to know our past to build on our future. This conference has already and will showcase the vibrancy of Africa, our languages and the importance of storytelling.

I thank you all for your presence and encourage the Western Cape Library Services to showcase the esteemed status of our libraries and to learn from the international delegates’ librarianship.

I also hope the international delegates will ‘take a page from our book’ and learn from our best practice as the Western Cape runs the largest library service network in South Africa with 361 service points.

I thank you.