About

IBBY was founded in Zurich, Switzerland in 1953. Today, it is composed of more than seventy National Sections all over the world. IBBY’s founder, Jella Lepman, believed that books could build bridges of understanding and peace between people. After World War II, she saw an opportunity to reach out to the next generation of German children, who needed not only food, medicine, clothes, and shelter, but also books. Good books from around the world could show these children that they are not alone and their experiences and feelings are shared by children from other countries and cultures.

IBBY’s policies and programmes are determined by its Executive Committee: ten people from different countries and a President, elected biennially by the National Sections at a General Assembly during the IBBY Congresses. The daily management of IBBY’s affairs is conducted from its Secretariat in Basel, Switzerland. The annual dues from the National Sections are IBBY’s only source of regular income.

Canada’s National Section, IBBY Canada, has built on a rich history of enacting positive change through children’s literature since its inception in 1980. Our mission is to introduce Canadian children’s literature to the world and to promote exceptional international children’s literature in Canada. This is done through so many initatives that it can be difficult distilling what it is we do! If there is an opportunity for IBBY Canada to support, promote, or honour creators of Canadian children’s literature; bring Canadian children’s literature to children in Canada or around the world; or encourage the creation and distribution of quality children’s literature in developing countries or those in need, then IBBY Canada will take that opportunity.

But we can only do it with the support of people like you. IBBY Canada consists of a vast national network of authors, illustrators, publishers, parents, teachers, librarians, booksellers, and academics, but because we are in a developed country, our dues to IBBY in Switzerland are among the highest. Membership fees, individual donations, and fundraising efforts contribute to this cost, allowing us to support IBBY’s important work around the world. IBBY Canada’s Executive Committee consists entirely of volunteers.

As a non-governmental organization with an official status in UNESCO and UNICEF, IBBY has a policy-making role as an advocate of children’s books. Our framework going forward is the Right of Every Child to Become a Reader, meaning every child in the world must have access to books and the opportunity to become a reader in the fullest sense. If this were accomplished, then Jella Lepman’s vision of a world with engaged and empathetic citizens might at last be fully realized.

Contact Us:

IBBY Canada
c/o The Canadian Children’s Book Centre
217-40 Orchard View Boulevard
Toronto, ON
M4R 1B9