We believe that access to information, culture and education is the lever for the most vulnerable populations’ emancipation.
Bibliothèques Sans Frontières (Libraries Without Borders – BSF) is an international non-profit that strengthens people’s capacity in vulnerable situations by facilitating access to education, culture, and information.
In Belgium, we aim to reduce social inequalities by creating and transmitting innovative educational tools and content, and by empowering local players and citizens through training and support for our various programmes.
From leaving their country of origin to integrating into their host country, BSF helps migrants and refugees to overcome the difficulties they encounter along the way.
In camps, our tools enable them to keep learning, overcome boredom and keep faith in the future. In host countries, we work in emergency shelters, socio-cultural centers and libraries, so that they can become familiar with the local language and culture, and have access to all the information they need to exercise their rights, access housing or find a job.
School is the place that allows the younger generations to bond, to escape and to project themselves into the future; and as such, it is the place that allows everyone to grow up with the same opportunities, regardless of gender or social background.
Given the lack of equity in the Belgian school system, we are concentrating our efforts on improving teaching practices in the education system in terms of equity and inclusion, fostering the pleasure of learning and growing self-confidence in studies, and promoting free, high-quality learning tools, in particular the Khan Academy platform.
At a time when administrative procedures, social relations and more and more everyday activities such as getting information or searching for information are being carried out online, not mastering digital uses and IT tools has consequences for the daily lives of Belgians.
In view of this, we are refocusing our efforts on strengthening the basic digital skills of Belgian citizens, from the age of 8 and on training and equipping front-line players in the field of digital inclusion.
Promoting reading means fostering language development and academic success, and helping to turn the younger generation into enlightened and fulfilled citizens of the future.
In Belgium, we concentrate our effort on developing language through access to stories and books from an early age, promoting the pleasure of reading in young people and developing their critical faculties.