Serageldin Meets with the Partners of the World Digital Library
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Dr. Ismail Serageldin, Director of the Library of Alexandria, joined the partners of the World Digital Library (WDL) for the Inaugural Annual Partner Meeting in Washington DC, on 22 June 2010.
During the two-day meeting, the partners reviewed the recent developments and discussed the future challenges of the WDL project. The meeting was opened by James H. Billington, the Librarian of Congress; Abdul Waheed Khan, Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); in addition to Serageldin.
Launched in April 2009, the WDL website features the world’s best cultural contributions. With 32 partner organizations from all over the world, the project aims at narrowing the cultural gap and promoting understanding between different cultures and peoples. The WDL functions in seven languages – Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish – and includes content in more than forty languages.
The WDL was developed by a team at the U.S. Library of Congress with the support of the UNESCO, and with contributions by partner institutions in many countries. The BA is one of the key partners and a major contributor of digitized content to the WDL. In addition, the BA is co-chairing the Technical Architecture Working Group (TAWG), through its ICT Sector.