IFLA Communicator of the Year Award — 2012 Call for Nominations

DEADLINE: 14 August 2012

With the design and implementation of its new website in 2009, IFLA continues to follow modern communication trends and wants to stimulate new forms of news dissemination. Therefore the main professional communication channel for the Sections needs to shift from the traditional newsletters in print and PDF to the active use and maintenance of the Sections' web pages under the IFLA domain and the use of social media, such as blogging, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other relevant platforms by the Sections.

To stimulate this process, IFLA established the IFLA Communicator of the Year Award as a follow-up to the IFLA Newsletter of the Year Award.

This award focuses on IFLA activities of any communicator of any IFLA group. It is important to note that the award is not to be perceived as a personal reward. The communicator awarded will have to be strongly affiliated with identifiable units of the organisational structure of IFLA and s/he will receive the award to highlight the achievements within the professional context.

The first Award was presented during the IFLA Congress in 2011 and was assigned to Sebastian Wilke and Dierk Eichel, convener and information coordinator of the IFLA New Professionals SIG.  

The Award intends to:

• Stimulate the change in communication
• Promote new forms of communication
• Stimulate regular renewal (innovation) of information & communication work of a particular professional unit
• Review the activities of a particular professional unit from one conference to another

Criteria for evaluation

• The use of social technology on webpages
• The implementation of social technology in the website pages
• The innovative way of conference or group profiling
• The extension of outreach to a large audience that the group is able to establish
• The use of multilingualism, inclusiveness and aesthetics/attractiveness.
• The activities awarded will have to be identified for the year (12 months) between the IFLA conferences.

Who can win?

The new Award will go to a person instead of groups. This means that it can be handed to persons in the following roles:

• Standing Committee Members
• Section Members
• Special Interest Group Members
• Those active in Core Activities
• Governing Board Members

IFLA Staff and Professional Committee Members may nominate individuals, but are excluded from being nominated themselves. Self nomination is not permitted.

The IFLA Communicator 2012 Award will be announced at the Closing Session at the IFLA Congress in Helsinki, Finland on Thursday 16 August 2012 by the Chair of the Selection Committee for the IFLA Communicator of the Year Award.

The prize consists of a scroll and a tangible award.

2012 nomination form [DOC]

Nominations may only be submitted by means of the nomination form.

Please send as an attachment to awards@ifla.org by Tuesday, 14 August 2012.

IFLA Headquarters
The Hague, 9 July 2012