News & community

Library and information association announces ‘Facts Matter’ campaign for 2017 UK election

The Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year for 2016 was “post-truth”, which spiked in frequency of use at the time of the Brexit vote in the United Kingdom (UK) and Donald Trump’s election as President of the United States. In post-truth politics, there is a reliance by politicians “on assertions that “feel true” but have no basis in fact.”

With this in mind, the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) is launching a new #FactsMatter campaign for the 2017 UK election, “to promote the need for evidence-based decision-making as a foundation of a strong, inclusive and democratic society.”

CILIP Chair Karen McFarlane states that:

In light of recent concerns about fake news and misinformation it has never been more important for politicians and public figures to show leadership by making a stand for facts and evidence.

#FactsMatter is an opportunity to strengthen public trust in our institutions and to highlight the need for better evidence, supported by trained and qualified information professionals.

The campaign has three phases:

  1. Following the election announcement, CILIP has written to every political party to provide a high-level briefing about the impact of the information profession and to invite them to include three key commitments in their election manifesto.
  1. CILIP will launch #FactsMatter on 1 May, focused on securing a commitment from all political parties to run evidence-based campaigns.
  1. After the election, #FactsMatter will transition into an ongoing activity, highlighting the role of information professionals in unlocking the value of information assets, developing information literacy, and providing decision-ready information.

Should #FactsMatter expand?

Should information and knowledge management organisations in other countries and regions also be initiating #FactsMatter campaigns, as part of a greater advocacy role by the profession?

Header image source: Adapted from Polling Station by Mark Fowler, which is licenced by CC BY-SA 2.0.

4.5/5 - (2 votes)

Also published on Medium.

Bruce Boyes

Bruce Boyes is a knowledge management (KM), environmental management, and education thought leader with more than 40 years of experience. As editor and lead writer of the award-winning RealKM Magazine, he has personally written more than 500 articles and published more than 2,000 articles overall, resulting in more than 2 million reader views. With a demonstrated ability to identify and implement innovative solutions to social and ecological complexity, Bruce has successfully completed more than 40 programs, projects, and initiatives including leading complex major programs. His many other career highlights include: leading the KM community KM and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) initiative, using agile approaches to oversee the on time and under budget implementation of an award-winning $77.4 million recovery program for one of Australia's most iconic river systems, leading a knowledge strategy process for Australia’s 56 natural resource management (NRM) regional organisations, pioneering collaborative learning and governance approaches to empower communities to sustainably manage landscapes and catchments in the face of complexity, being one of the first to join a new landmark aviation complexity initiative, initiating and teaching two new knowledge management subjects at Shanxi University in China, and writing numerous notable environmental strategies, reports, and other works. Bruce is currently a PhD candidate in the Knowledge, Technology and Innovation Group at Wageningen University and Research, and holds a Master of Environmental Management with Distinction and a Certificate of Technology (Electronics). As well as his work for RealKM Magazine, Bruce currently also teaches in the Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) Certified High-school Pathway (CHP) program in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, China.

Related Articles

Back to top button