56.4/2018

IBBY Elections 2018 East Meets West around Children's Books and Fairy Tales

This was the theme of the 36th IBBY Congress that was held in Athens, Greece, from August 30 to September 1, 2018. Approximately 500 participants travelled to Athens to enjoy a rich and varied program of high quality lectures, poster sessions, and IBBY Award events.

During the Congress, the IBBY members gathered for the General Assembly. Sixty delegates attended representing sixty-three National Sections. The IBBY General Assembly is the most important meeting place of IBBY members; it is where the main issues facing the organization are presented and the Executive Committee are elected for the following two years until the next Assembly. The 2018 General Assembly elected the IBBY President, the President of the 2020 Hans Christian Andersen Award Jury, ten members of the Executive Committee, and the IBBY Auditor for the term 2018 to 2020. The members of the new Executive Committee certainly reflect the Congress theme of East Meets West.

The IBBY Executive Committee 2018–20 comprises Mingzhou Zhang from China as IBBY President; Junko Yokota from the USA as President of the 2020 Hans Christian Andersen Award Jury; and EC members Anastasia Arkhipova from Russia, Carole Bloch from South Africa, Hasmig Chahinian from France, Zohreh Ghaeni from Iran, Sophie Hallam from the UK, Basarat Midhat Kazim from Pakistan, Ahmad Redza Ahmad Khairuddin from Malaysia, Shereen Kreidieh from Lebanon, Nora Lía Sormani from Argentina, and Sylvia Vardell from the USA. Urs Fröhlicher from Switzerland was re-elected as IBBY Auditor. These are complemented on the EC by Ellis Vance (USA) as Treasurer, Liz Page (Switzerland) as Executive Director, and Janelle Mathis and Petros Panaou (both from the USA) as Bookbird Editors. At the first meeting of the 2018–20 Executive Committee, Anastasia Arkhipova and Carole Bloch were chosen as Vice Presidents, and Ahmad Redza Ahmad Khairuddin was elected as the 2020 President of the IBBY Reading Promotion Jury—which will assess the nominations submitted by the members for the IBBY-Asahi Reading Promotion Award as well as the newly established IBBY-iRead Outstanding Reading Promoter Award.

From left to right: E. Vance, J. Yokota, A. Arkhipova, C. Bloch, H. Chahinian, Z. Ghaeni, S. Hallam, M. Zhang, B. Midhat Kazim, S. Kreidieh, R. Khairuddin, N.L. Sormani, and S. Vardell. Not in picture: L. Page, J. Mathis, and P. Panaeou.

Another issue raised at the General Assembly was a suggestion from outgoing President Wally De Doncker that an IBBY Vision Statement be adopted. This includes a strategy outline, the six key messages of IBBY's Mission, and a Statement of Purpose.

This statement will be discussed by the National Sections of IBBY and will be a subject for further discussion at the 2020 IBBY Congress (Moscow, Russia).

Other items at the Assembly were the state of the IBBY Finances and a summary of current IBBY activities. IBBY Palestine presented a banner made by children from the IBBY libraries in Gaza. They had written short passages on the banner to express their gratitude to PBBY and IBBY for the chance of having a library as a place for reading and learning in a calm atmosphere. In addition, Deborah Soria gave a presentation of the current situation of the IBBY Library on Lampedusa. The library is now open for local children as well as migrant children who have arrived on the island.

IBBY-iRead Outstanding Reading Promoter Award

A major announcement at the closing ceremony of the 36th IBBY Congress revealed the establishment of the IBBY-iRead Outstanding Reading Promoter Award. This Award has been established by the Shenzhen iRead Foundation and IBBY to encourage a real commitment to the cause of reading promotion in the hope of spreading this dedication to others around the globe. The Award aims to encourage further investment by individuals, organizations, and governments in the promotion of children's reading; it also aims to stimulate educational innovation, give much greater access to children's books, and...