Uruguay

On January 1991 Uruguay was accepted as a member of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY).

The aims of the Section are the

• Creation of a more democratic approach to books and reading
• Training of those who work in the reading area
• Strengthening of cultural identity values through knowledge of local and Latin American authors
• Counseling in the area of children’s literature.

The activities of the Section include:

• The organization of annual workshops, conferences, seminars (with local people and foreign visitors)
• Participation of members as jurors in book fairs and children’s movie festivals
• Visiting schools and similar institutions
• Promotion of children’s book illustrators exhibitions.

In these ways the Section has managed to achieve the organization’s objectives of reaching teachers, educators, and social actors in Montevideo and the rest of the country. Since 2000 IBBY Uruguay has organized a children’s book fair that attracts many school visitors.

All these events often receive local press coverage.

The membership of IBBY Uruguay currently includes teachers, linguists, writers, illustrators, librarians, children psychologists who deal with children and their learning process, translators, publishers, journalists, university teachers and students, social workers and parents in multidisciplinary tasks. All of them committed to the development of the very best in children’s books and encouraging closer connections between books and children.

The Section is closely related to the Faculty of Information and Communication - University of the Republic (University Training of Librarians), ABU (Librarian’s Association), La Casa de los Escritores (Writer’s Association), National Library, Cinemateca (Movie Hall), MEC (Ministry of Education), UNICEF, private universities, and the Uruguay Book Chamber.