International Conference "Sharing Good Practices"

The aim of the event was to share the experience and practice of specialists, working with immigrants, enriching the libraries' service, and increasing the professional competence of the library staff.

The conference had a clear schedule. At the beginning of the conference participants were welcomed to the event, introduced to the program and the project “Kaikki Kotona” which is implemented in Pyhäjoki, Raahe, and Siikajoki libraries. Later on, the six speakers shared their experiences and gave multiple examples of different events and activities organized for immigrants. Obviously, the main topic was the integration of refugees from Ukraine. Although a few speakers analyzed the importance of integration for immigrants from other countries, too.

After the presentations, the participants had a questions/answers session and could address the questions to the speakers. There was a very informative and useful discussion time for the whole participants.

The online international conference was held between two countries' librarians: Lithuania and Finland but worth to be continued in the future. Both listeners and speakers appreciated the possibility to share their experiences and spread their knowledge and ideas since the immigrants’, refugees issue is very relevant to European countries.