Libraries in the democratic ecosystem

Online debates
5, 12, 19 May (Tuesdays) and 25 May (Monday)
7-9pm CET
The debates will be held in English. They will not be recorded.
Register here

Human beings are not “naturally” prepared to live in democracy. In “Cultivating humanity”, philosopher Martha Nussbaum reminds us that that “people need to be fitted for freedom”, that “freedom of thought and human dignity are capabilities to be developed”, and that our role (in our case, as cultural organisations”, is to to produce free citizens, citizens who are free not because of wealth or birth, but because they can call their minds their own.”

In this context, it is relevant to explore the role of libraries in the democratic ecosystem, at a time where democracy is under pressure. Like other institutions, libraries are also vulnerable to being caught up in and coopted by the status quo. Pressure may come from political/partisan interference, from the growing lack of trust in “the system”, from mis- and dis-information, from artificial intelligence (AI), from policies and actions that aim at excluding citizens from civic participation.

Even though, there is something about the nature of information that seeks to escape containers that in some ways, forces the library as a system to push towards access, despite what the rule-bearers think or do. Libraries are still trusted; libraries are still open and free; libraries offer a place to sit, access information, read, debate, connect and create A place to train and actively defend democracy.

We invited four librarians and asked them to choose their pair for these debates.

We thank Filipa Barros for co-curating these debates.