LIAZ members get acquainted with advocating for the SDGs

Part of the workshop participants during group work
[Photo: Justin Chisenga]

More than 100 members of the Library and Information Association of Zambia (LIAZ) on 18 July 2017 attended a one-day workshop on advocating for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Siavonga, in the Southern Province of the country.

 “As information professionals, we need to fully understand what the SDGs are if we are to meaningfully contribute to the attainment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”,  Ms. Velenasi Mwale Munsanje, LIAZ President, said in her welcome statement.

The practical workshop held at the Lake Safari Lodge, on the shores of the Lake Kariba, covered the following topics: introduction to the SDGs, library advocacy and the SDGs, identification of targets for advocacy initiatives, selecting an advocacy issue, developing messages, developing an advocacy strategy matrix, and monitoring and evaluation of advocacy initiatives, among others.

The participants worked in groups and developed sample advocacy plans based on the SDGs of their choice and shared their work in the plenary session.

Mr. Mark Maseko, National Information Officer from the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC), Zambia, and Mr. Charles Nonde, Librarian at UNIC, co-facilitated the workshop.

The workshop was held part of LIAZ’s 2017 Annual General Conference taking place from 18 July to 21 July 2017, on the theme: “The Role of Information Institutions and Professionals in the Attainment of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals”.