© FazeliPeople attend the initiation of the World Digital Library in Paris
The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) launched the website which offers information in seven languages -- Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish and Russian -- on Tuesday.
Some 32 libraries and research institutions from 19 countries helped to create the site, which includes manuscripts, maps, rare books, films, sound recordings, prints and photographs.
The online library is a "great initiative that will help to bridge the knowledge divide, promote mutual understanding and foster cultural and linguistic diversity," said UNESCO's director general, Koichiro Matsuura.
According to UNESCO's Assistant Director-General for Communications and Information, Abdul Waheed Khan, the project aims to promote social progress and better standards of living around the world by helping to build what he calls "inclusive knowledge societies."
"Any vision of building inclusive knowledge societies has to be based on some fundamental principles -- for example, universal access to information and knowledge, cultural and linguistic diversity, freedom of expression, and quality education for all," Khan said.
"To all the four fundamental principles of building knowledge societies, the digitization of libraries contributes. But it also contributes to the overall mandate of UNESCO. That is, through mutual understanding promoting peace," he added.
"There are hundreds of thousands of libraries. Once you empower them through the digitization process, then you create almost unlimited opportunities for people to access information and knowledge," he further explained.
The website, currently in early stages, cost $10 million and was financed by private donors, including Google, Microsoft, the Qatar Foundation, King Abdullah University in Saudi Arabia and the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
The World Digital Library is available at worlddigitallibrary.org.
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