Libraries for Europe

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Cinisello Balsamo
Libraries for Europe

A strategic focus of the European Cultural Foundation. Building on 5 years of collaboration with 100+libraries in 30 countries.

Driving The Europe Challenge, a programme empowering libraries & communities to shape a better future for Europe.

04/06/2026

60 libraries. 20+ countries. 1 big question: what does it mean for libraries to be at the heart of Europe? 🏛️

Turns out libraries are helping to hold democracy together, and we're here for it!

From 3–5 June, Amsterdam becomes the meeting point for the final summit of the Europe Challenge 2025/26.

library folks, community organisers, policymakers and funders are coming together at to swap ideas, test things out, and figure out how libraries are already showing up for the big stuff: democracy, climate, digital life, community.
there's a marketplace, study visits across Amsterdam, and a whole funders forum happening alongside it all.

The vibe is local action meets Europe-wide ambition. 💪

Follow us for more updates from the ground and keep an eye out for a recap of the event!

Supported by and co-funded by the European Union.

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21/05/2026

✨ KnowHow Lab 2: Think Like Gen Alpha ✨

How can libraries show up online in a way that feels real, fun, and actually connects with people? 🤳

Efthymios Savvakis' session tackles this question.

From Instagram to TikTok, Savvakis shows how to turn your everyday work into stories that resonate and reach younger audiences in ways that feel natural, not forced. It's about having real impact with authentic messaging and a little bit of playfulness.

🔗 Watch the full session through the link in our bio.

🖍 Illustrated by .kostowska.

KnowHow Labs are part of BUDDIES, an Erasmus+ funded project supporting library and community workers through mentoring, networking and policy recommendations, coordinated by the European Cultural Foundation, in collaboration with Aarhus Public Libraries, Athens Comics Library and Public Libraries 2030, and co-funded by the European Union.

07/05/2026

Watch Asmund Bertelsen's presentation to learn more about how libraries help build stronger democracies, through his work as Project Manager and Democracy Developer at Aarhus Public Libraries. Link in bio🔗

As part of BUDDIES – Connected Libraries & Communities, the Aarhus Public Libraries is organising a series of masterclasses along Europe’s key transitions: Digital, Green, and Social, also corresponding to the focus areas of The Europe Challenge programme.

BUDDIES is a project funded by Erasmus+, working with The Europe Challenge to support library and community workers through mentoring, networking, and policy recommendations. It is coordinated by the , in collaboration with Aarhus Public Libraries , , and Public Libraries 2030, and co-funded by the European Union.

30/04/2026

What if libraries came to you?

In Bogotá, with a 2-hour average commute and 8M+ residents, waiting for people to visit libraries isn't always an option. So the libraries stopped waiting.

Watch via the link in bio to learn more about outreach strategies that bring community and public libraries together, through Alexander Zambrano's work as Head of Knowledge Management and Public Innovation at the Bogotá Library System.

As part of our Erasmus+ project BUDDIES – Connected Libraries & Communities, the Aarhus Public Libraries is organising a series of masterclasses along the themes of The Europe Challenge programme: Digital, Green, and Social.

BUDDIES is a project funded by Erasmus+, working with The Europe Challenge to support library and community workers through mentoring, networking, and policy recommendations. It is coordinated by the European Cultural Foundation, in collaboration with Aarhus Public Libraries, Athens Comics. Library and Public Libraries 2030, and co-funded by the European Union.

23/04/2026

Happy World Book Day! 📚 Libraries are about so much more than books or even a safe space to enjoy your favourite stories. We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again.

However… books do have a unique power: they help libraries bring Europe together. Slide to see how some of the libraries participating in The Europe Challenge 2025/26 are making that happen.

Find out more at theeuropechallenge.eu.

14/04/2026

KnowHow Lab #1, part 1: Leadership with Care ✨

Our first KnowHow Lab brought together librarians and community organisers and we explored what mindful leadership looks like and how to lead teams with care, clarity, and intention.

We use practical leadership models and easy-to-use tools to help create a shared vision for projects and organisations. Because for libraries and community groups, care is central to how we lead, collaborate, and build trust.

Baytna (“our home” in Arabic) started as an unofficial daycare for refugee children and grew into a community of people who share the same values. 🌱

Dr. , founder of Athens Comics Library, shared what care-based leadership really looked like inside this project:
∙ Care is not about control. It’s about trust
∙ Leadership sometimes means holding space rather than directing action
∙ Who is being heard? Who is carrying invisible emotional labour? These were questions they asked constantly
∙ Care also meant ethics; no extractive storytelling, no performative participation, no reducing people to their trauma
∙ And care showed up in how people were welcomed and remembered; not just in programmes

In the context of displacement and inequality, care is also political. It resists systems that put productivity over dignity.

Care is not the opposite of leadership. Care is leadership. ✨

This is part one of our KnowHow Lab series, illustrated by .kostowska. Watch the session at the link in our bio!

KnowHow Labs are part of BUDDIES, an Erasmus+ funded project supporting library and community workers through mentoring, networking and policy recommendations, coordinated by the European Cultural Foundation, in collaboration with Aarhus Public Libraries Aarhus Bibliotekerne, Athens Comics Library and Public Libraries 2030, and co-funded by the European Union.

02/04/2026

What skills do European library professionals need to foster community participation and inclusive learning?

That’s exactly what the BUDDIES project is setting out to understand.

We’ve just launched a survey for public library staff in Europe to map competencies and training needs around:

➡️ Participatory and inclusive learning

➡️ Community engagement

➡️ Democratic participation

The results will feed directly into a practical competency framework for the sector. So, your input matters.

Do you have 10 minutes? We want to hear from you! Visit the survey link in our stories and bio.

26/03/2026

Swipe to meet the four organisations behind this pan-European mission to connect libraries and empower communities.

From Amsterdam 🇳🇱 to Brussels 🇧🇪 to Aarhus 🇩🇰 to Athens 🇬🇷, we are BUDDIES.

BUDDIES is a project funded by Erasmus+, working with The Europe Challenge to support library and community workers through mentoring, networking, and policy recommendations. It is coordinated by the European Cultural Foundation, in collaboration with Aarhus Public Libraries, Athens Comics Library and Public Libraries 2030, and co-funded by the European Union.

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19/03/2026

As part of our Erasmus+ BUDDIES project, we’re hosting a series of masterclasses exploring The Europe Challenge: Digital, Green & Social.

Helene Bruhn Schvartzman from Aarhus Public Libraries shared how co-design, systemic & planetary design can help libraries build new competences and deepen their connection to nature. 🌿

Follow us for more exciting projects involving libraries around Europe!

BUDDIES is a project funded by Erasmus+, working with The Europe Challenge to support library and community workers through mentoring, networking, and policy recommendations. It is coordinated by the European Cultural Foundation, in collaboration with Aarhus Public Libraries, Comicdom Press and Public Libraries 2030, and co-funded by the European Union.

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04/03/2026

Today, we present to you an exciting new project, which we will talk about on the Libraries for Europe channels! Welcome to BUDDIES.

BUDDIES connects library and community workers across borders, creating space to share knowledge, support one another, and grow stronger together. Because when people connect, ideas spread, and so does impact on a human level.

Follow along as this pan-European network grows, and we share content about what’s happening at BUDDIES.

BUDDIES is a project funded by Erasmus+, working with The Europe Challenge to support library and community workers through mentoring, networking, and policy recommendations. It is coordinated by the European Cultural Foundation, in collaboration with Aarhus Bibliotekerne, Comicdom and Public Libraries 2030, and co-funded by the European Union.

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Sito Web

http://theeuropechallenge.eu/, https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQw7lVPqhSW9AY9gO_a8ufW2772hWY8Bm&si=hz8mWiZS_QgkFxPv,

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