ADDRESS AT THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE

SEVENTH APLAP CONFERENCE,

ANKARA, 9 SEPTEMBER 2002

 

BY

MR. R.C. AHUJA

PRESIDENT

ASSOCIATION OF PARLIAMENTARY LIBRARIANS

OF ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (APLAP)

 

    Hon’ble Members of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, Hon’ble Acting Secretary-General of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, Mr. Hayati Sener, Distinguished Dignitaries, Distinguished Keynote Speakers, Distinguished Delegates, Distinguished Colleagues from the Turkish Grand National Assembly Library and Documentation Center, Distinguished Officers of the Assembly Secretariat and Various Ministries of the Government of Turkey, Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

    First of all, I would like to join our gracious hosts in welcoming you all to this Opening Ceremony of the Seventh Biennial Conference of the Association of Parliamentary Librarians of Asia and the Pacific, popularly known as APLAP. For us, APLAP members, visiting Turkey –a land renowned the world over for its glorious civilisation, culture and learning- and holding our conference here, is indeed a matter of great pleasure. We have been able to meet in this pious land because of the blessings of His Excellency Mr. Omer Izgi, the Hon’ble Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly. On behalf of APLAP, I would like to express our deep gratitude to the Hon’ble Speaker and the Turkish Grand National Assembly for hosting this Conference. 

 

    The Biennial Conferences of APLAP reflect the recognition in the Parliamentary Library circles of the importance of exchange of views on information management and its techniques, the role of IT in this field, and the challenges posed by the objective of global sharing of the resources of legislative information. During more than a decade of our existence, we have deliberated on a wide range of issues including the legislative information networking, information resource-sharing, regional cooperation, impact of culture on parliamentary libraries and parliamentary research services, etc. Some of the themes discussed so far have been of vital importance not only for the overall functioning of parliamentary libraries but also for the vibrancy of our systems of governance. The theme of this Conference namely `The Role of Parliamentary Libraries in Enhancing Democracy in the Digital Age’ also falls in this category.

 

    Now a days, in democracies, people are concerned not merely about the institutional arrangements per se but also about how these institutions work and what these institutions deliver. They demand responsibility, accountability and transparency in the system. They also demand objective and authentic information about the working of parliamentary institutions so that they may evaluate their performance. It has, therefore, become necessary for our systems to evolve effective channels of transmission of the requisite information to the people both through media and directly by suitable means.

 

    Parliamentary Libraries play a crucial role in this regard. They collect and disseminate information to the members of parliament and help them in discharging their duties. Further, as intermediary between the Parliament and the people, they act as an information base by making available to the media and the public authentic information about the various parliamentary practices and procedures, about the business being transacted in Parliament and also about the useful work being done by Parliament for the welfare of the people and development of the country as a whole.

 

    Needless to say, the task of catering to the information needs of the parliamentarians and of the people is extremely challenging. The mass of diverse materials makes it difficult for the legislators to identify their interests with physically distributed information, available in conventional forms. Further, we also find it hard to keep track of information and also to generate user-profiles of demands and expectations. Digitalization has emerged as a strategy to overcome these and other such problems relating to information management and dissemination. The easiness in accessibility, increased usability and erosion of physical barriers offered by the digital environment in parliamentary libraries increase its desirability manifold. Through digitalisation we can have a view of as many repositories as possible and also enable law-makers to connect and interact with information for the ultimate objectives of understanding public opinion and also to link the same with policies to be made.

 

    Keeping in view the above scenario, one of the aims of APLAP and the objective of this conference is to encourage the establishment of necessary infrastructure in the member countries for initiating digitalization pogrammes and also for fostering the exchange of legislative information over national and international borders. We must endeavour to digitalize and strengthen the functional base and user services of our national Parliamentary Libraries and improve international availability of digitalized parliamentary information for providing to ourselves the means for ensuring the much desired parliament-people interaction and ultimately for global resource sharing. 

 

    Friends, it is indeed a matter of great honour for us to be in this beautiful city of Ankara which is not only the capital city but also the spirit of modern, progressive and culturally rich civilization of Turkey. With its clean roads lined with beautiful trees, enchanting greenery in vast open spaces, and highly developed social conscience, Ankara presents the ideal setting for the Seventh Biennial Conference of APLAP. I am sure, we would have fruitful deliberations on the theme of this Conference here.

 

    I would like to thank, on behalf of all APLAP members, the Hon’ble Acting Secretary General of the Turkish Grand National Assembly for his illuminating opening address and very encouraging words which would be a source of inspiration for all of us. I would also like to thank him for all the support so kindly given by him to the Turkish Grand National Assembly Library and Documentation Centre in hosting this Conference. 

 

    On behalf of APLAP, I would also like to thank the three Keynote Speakers, Hon’ble A. Ziya Aktas, Member of Parliament, Mrs. Berin U. Yurdadog, Professor University of Baskent and Mrs. Nilufer Timisi, Assistant Professor University of Ankara, who have very graciously agreed to address us in the afternoon session today.

    

    I would also like to thank the Organising Committee of the host Secretariat under the leadership of Mr Ali Riza Cihan, Director, for the excellent arrangements made for the Conference.

 

    On behalf of APLAP, I would also like to thank the distinguished gathering here for gracing this occasion.

 

    Thank you very much.