22nd November, 10am – 4:30pm, Europe House, 32 Smith Square London SW1P 3EU

Founded in 2002, EUROLIS is an association of librarians and information professionals from France, Italy, Portugal, Poland, Spain and the UK.

The association works together to raise the profile of European library services in the UK, with the primary aim of promoting our countries’ literature, languages and cultures and strengthening information professionals’ networking and cooperation.

Eurolis organises an annual seminar on relevant topic for all librarians, teachers, information professional in the UK with expert speakers from participating countries;

The Topic of this year’s EUROLIS Seminar is:

Gender Roles and Stereotypes in Children’s Literature: What Can Librarians Do?   

The seminar (conducted in English) will seek to analyze experiences on how libraries from different European countries, contribute significantly to the understanding of what librarians do regarding gender roles and stereotypes in children’s literature.

Children’s books have a significant place in children’s development, as they contribute to shaping their identity, aspirations and expectations of gender roles in families and society. However, the majority of the books represent a world full of traditional, binary and stereotypical gender roles (boys described as active and domineering, girls described as sweet and conforming, etc.) So what can librarians do to challenge male and female stereotypes, promote positive role models and celebrate gender equality? 

As part of the day, there will be a keynote speech at 12.00 pm by Marnie Campagnaro, Associate Professor of Children’s Literature at the University of Padua

Followed by Q & A

Gender Representation in Italian Children’s Literature: From the Postwar Period to the Present

The representation of gender in Italian children’s literature has evolved significantly through the last decades. From the 1960s and 1970s, with series such as “Tantibambini” (1972-1978) and “Dalla parte delle bambine” (1975), to the new millennium with publishers such as Settenove (2013) and Lo Stampatello (2011), and contemporary series like “Sottosopra” by EDT Giralangolo, Italian picture books have challenged traditional stereotypes. Authors such as Giusi Quarenghi, Beatrice Masini, Octavia Monaco, Chiara Carrer and Beatrice Alemagna have reimagined roles and depictions, enriching young readers’ imaginations and fostering a multi-faceted view of reality, even in works that are not expressly gender-oriented. Marnie will share the results of her research as a tool for librarians to recognise gender bias, acknowledge how it evolves through the decades and hone their selection of readings for young readers.

Marnie Campagnaro is an Associate Professor of Children’s Literature at the University of Padua’s FISPPA Department. She directs the postgraduate Children’s Literature programme and leads the LETIN Unipd research group. Her main research fields include picture books, materiality, reader-response theory, design, architecture, visual and arts-based historical and educational studies, object-oriented criticism, fairy tales and Italian children’s writers. Actively engaged in various research initiatives, she collaborates with educational institutions, libraries and publishers. As Task Leader in the “Green Dialogues” NOTED-European Project (2022-2025), she advocates for climate literacy and walking as a critical inquiry. Marnie has published more than 90 papers in various high-quality peer-reviewed journals.

Talk organised and supported by the Italian Cultural Institute in London.

The Seminar is FREE to attend, you can reserve your place via the following link:

Eurolis Seminar 2024 Tickets, Fri, Nov 22, 2024 at 10:00 AM | Eventbrite

Find out more about EUROLIS:

This Seminar is organised by EUROLIS, an association of librarians and information professionals from Austria, Italy, France, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and the UK from the European Cultural Institutes based in London. Founded in 2002, Eurolis believes that libraries and information services are vital for building an educated and open society, based on the idea of a free Europe that flourishes through its diversity and tolerance of other cultures. This collaborative project is created by trust and cooperation between its members, emphasising that the whole is greater than the sum of its individual parts.

EUROLIS | European Libraries in the UK (wordpress.com)

The Italian Cultural Institute in London organises the seminar in collaboration with EUROLIS’s partners.  ICI London invites Associate Professor Marnie Campagnaro to represent Italy and the Italian culture and approaches to the Seminar’s topic.