As a campaign fighting for the issues of knowledge equity and equality of access to information, #ebookSOS is as concerned as many others in the sector about the awarding of the 2024 World Library and Information Congress to Dubai. With a long track record of human rights abuses and legal discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals, women, ethnic minorities, migrant workers, trade unionists and others, it is difficlt to see how such a choice of venue squares with the values of both IFLA and the library sector as a whole.
On a personal level, as a bisexual woman, I (Caroline) am deeply disturbed to see how easily IFLA seems to disregard the rights of its LGBTQ+ members and colleagues in choosing to host the World Library and Information Congress in a location which is deeply unsafe for the community and where attendance would force individuals to choose between their freedom to express their identity and sexuality and their personal safety.
#ebookSOS echoes the call from other library sector bodies and organisations for IFLA to reconsider this decision, and affirms that #ebookSOS representatives will not be attending the WLIC 2024 in Dubai.
