Library on Priorka for children Kyiv Library wins second place at the IFLA Green Library Award 202 - a global competition that recognises libraries that promote environmental initiatives.
The project ‘Green Library Ecological Space: In Search of Eco-Heroes and a Way Out of the Environmental Crisis’ by the Priorka Library for Children (Kyiv) won second place in the Best Green Library Project category of the IFLA Green Library Award 2024. The award is given for the significant contribution of libraries to environmental education and activities.
The awarding ceremony took place during the IFLA Culture Knowledge Community international conference, which was held in Barcelona on 6-9 October 2024. Hanna Kobets, Head of the Library, and Lyusyena Shum, Director of the Library Country Charitable Foundation, took part in the Award Ceremony in Barcelona.
This is the ninth such competition among the world's green library projects, held under the auspices of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA). The rating is conducted in two categories: the best green library (large-scale project) and the best project.
In the final of the competition in the category ‘Best Green Library Project’, the Kyiv Library on Priorka was among libraries from China, Turkey, Slovenia, and Ireland, losing out only to the library from Ireland. In total, 44 eco-projects from around the world applied for the competition this year.
Lyusyena Shum, Executive Director of the Library Country Charitable Foundation: ‘Libraries in Ukraine have the opportunity to become the voice of Ukraine in the international arena and talk about Ukrainian achievements as well as military challenges. The consequences of the Russian war for the environment of Ukraine and neighbouring countries are catastrophic, and the library was able to convey this information to the global library community by participating in the competition.’
Hanna Kobets, head of the library at Priorka for children (Kyiv) : ‘The success of our library has demonstrated that Ukrainian libraries, even in today's challenging environment, are able to compete with their colleagues from around the world, where libraries have traditionally been an active part of society and the community. Thus, our national experience of library development meets both the requirements of the times and the needs of the community. Even with the existing resources and capabilities, it is possible to effectively implement programmes to develop and transform libraries and the sector as a whole into modern multifunctional spaces that serve the needs of communities. During the project implementation, we managed to create a real space filled with real meaning, the main task of which is to form an environmental culture and consciousness of children and youth. The special areas of our work include the children's eco-club, which involves regular eco-meetings and workshops with children, the art project ‘Save the Life’, the main content of which is to demonstrate environmental issues through art, and the project ‘DubcrossingUA’, implemented in cooperation with the community of our neighbours and partners in Hirka Christera. These are the areas that demonstrate our work, meet the Sustainable Development Goals and, as a result, lead to success, the main secret of which is indifference.’
The Green Library Ecological Space project was jointly established by the Library Country Charitable Foundation and the Library on Priorka in 2019.
Project presentation is by link
