The 73rd IFLA World Library and Information Congress was held in Durban, South Africa in August 2007. The Libs for Africa project was initiated in November 2006, to raise funds to pay conference registration to help African librarians who might not otherwise have the opportunity to attend an international conference on their home continent. The project involved fundraising within La Trobe University and the Australian library community. The campaign raised an amount of $11,200, which supported sixteen African librarian's attendance at the conference.

This paper will describe the project from its inception to successful conclusion within a limited period. It will show how electronic communication technologies were used in a practical sense to communicate quickly and effectively with IFLA, to market the idea to the Australian library community; and to communicate with other interested members of the national and international library community who assisted in the generation of goodwill and enthusiasm for the project. The paper will examine the implication of an individual idea for this unique opportunity - which, given the right tools and environment produced a successful result. There were many wonderful stories of individual fundraising activities - from large academic libraries to regional public libraries - from city to country areas, as well as remote areas in the Northern Territory! All aspects of the project will be reviewed, including the role of ALIA and IFLA, and the administration, marketing and communication technologies used. Reports from the successful grantees will be examined, and an assessment made of their IFLA experience, and the benefits accruing to them professionally, their institution and to their work.