Launched in November 2012, the advocacy campaign "The Urgency of Reading" aims to raise awareness for the need to better address the intellectual dimension of populations in humanitarian situations.

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The campaign Urgency of Reading is an initiative of the ONG Libraries Without Borders, the main NGO supporting libraries in the french-speaking world. Active in over 20 countries, LWB intervenes in emergency situations as well as over the long term in order to promote access to knowledge and information for all.

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On the 11th and 12th of October 2013 an international conference on "The Urgency of Reading" will be held in Paris, which aims to bring together professionals from the humanitarian aid, library and ICT sectors to work on better understanding the intellectual dimension of human beings in humanitarian emergency situations.

Information and registration

The Ideas Box is a cultural centre in a kit being developed for emergency humanitarian situations by Libraries Without Borders. Equiped with a satellite internet connection and touch-screen tablettes, electronic and paper books, as well as a mobile cinema, the Ideas Box is a truly portable media centre for children and adults.

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