For civil society to counter extremism, insecurity and
conflict, societies must have the tools to build a culture of peace. For human
beings to be active agents in building free, equitable, secure societies, they
must have access to ideas and innovations, as well as to the conditions whereby
they can develop their own ideas, questions and criticisms to change the world
in which they live. This is the premise from which Ideaccess aims to make
valuable social justice-centred resources available to citizens, activists,
women’s rights defenders and organized groups by providing professional
translations of needed resources into local languages in the Middle East and
Central Asia. Ideaccess also actively distributes such resources and facilitates
the establishment of Community-Based Libraries (CBLs) where such resources can
be accessed easily at the community level. A well-developed programme tying
together translation, printing, distribution and accessibility makes Ideaccess a
unique network linking activists, students and social movements across
communities and borders in the Middle East and Central Asia. Together, the CBLs
form a web bridging together those using the materials Ideaccess makes available
to them and providing a space for the exchange of ideas, advice and support for
each others’ social justice efforts.