Page 774 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 5 April 2022
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quickly and easily. Libraries also provide access to global media for migrant communities, for example instant access to 6,000 newspapers from 100 countries, in 60 languages, as well as providing essential language learning resources for parts of our community. We can also use digital means to create beneficial outcomes, for example increasing the social participation of historically marginalised groups.
I also applaud the ACT government’s technology upgrade fund to upgrade IT equipment and improve digital access and literacy across Canberra. The fund was co-designed in consultation with the community to ensure it has a positive impact and promotes equitable digital access across the ACT. The technology upgrade fund was an election commitment noted in the 10th parliamentary and governing agreement. I personally took great delight in handing out some of the laptops on behalf of the ACT government through the migrant and refugees support services digital access program.
This program aligns with the ACT government’s digital strategy to meet the needs of Canberrans most at risk of digital exclusion. This includes older Canberrans and people with disability and access requirements, including mobility restraints, by providing access to a registered community organisation in the ACT. The technology upgrade fund supports the community sector to make improvements and access contemporary hardware, software and services. It also includes training and education with an aim to ensure everyone in the community has equitable access to digital support. But digital access is only one part of the solution. To quote one of my favourite authors, Neil Gaiman: “Google can bring you back 100,000 answers, a librarian can bring you back the right one.” Libraries are the gateway drug to knowledge and libraries are the dealers.
Libraries are a public good and a critical part of our community. As the visionary umbrella group Australia reMADE recently reported from their research into the public good, there are a handful of basic goods and services people want to be available to everyone. These came up time and time again, in every conversation group, regardless of people’s socioeconomic resources, location, cultural background or political leanings. Namely, they are housing, health care, education, jobs, access to nature and access to the internet. Whether you live in a big city or a small country town, we all need to feel connected to the place we call home. Public libraries, parks and other free community spaces are vital infrastructure for everyone in our communities to be able to access. They also provide important digital resources for people who are in isolation or isolated for whatever reason in these COVID times.
The social causes of exclusion are just as important as the technical ones. It is not just about having an internet connection or laptop; it is about translating this access into plain English. In recent research in the ACT, they found, and I quote:
This study emphasises the importance of social resources, including ongoing support and encouragement, to digital inclusion outcomes. It suggests there are different dimensions that must be considered when addressing digital skills and social constraints, both of which contribute to non-engagement. The thesis suggests that the success of future digital inclusion policy relies on implementing effective means to facilitate new forms of ongoing social support surrounding the use of digital technologies that are deeply embedded in our everyday lives.
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