SciDev highlights a Libraries Without Borders project:
An innovative project to set up portable libraries in refugee camps has proven its worth in a three-month assessment of its pilot project in Burundi. There are now plans to expand the initiative across Africa and beyond.More here
The libraries are known as Ideas Boxes. They can provide refugee camps with access to educational resources and a connection to the outside world — to “foster creativity” — says project officer Allister Chang.
“We have three [Ideas Box libraries] in UN Refugee Agency camps in Burundi, as part of a pilot aiming to expand across the Great Lakes African region, and hopefully into other areas of the world,” Chang tells SciDev.Net.
An Ideas Box measures 80x120x160 centimetres, the size of two standard European shipping pallets, and weighs approximately 800 kilograms.
It contains a host of resources such as tablets, laptops, e-readers containing e-books, and internet connection hardware, that can be tailored to needs at destination. The box can be unpacked in less than 20 minutes to create a library and media centre (see video link below).
“Firstly, our goal is education, such as improving literacy rates and increasing achievement in schools, but also facilitating professional training for adults,” Chang tells SciDev.Net.