VALA Award 2022 Presentation Ceremony
State Library of Queensland - Siganto Digital Learning Program
Wednesday 29 March, 12.00pm - 1.00pm AEDT
The biennial VALA Award recognises innovation in Information Systems to support library customers. This could be either through the provision of new or upgraded services or facilities, or through improvements to operational systems. The State Library of Queensland is the winner of the 2022 VALA Award with their project, Siganto Digital Learning Program. Join us for a presentation of the VALA2022 Award to the State Library of Queensland, followed by a presentation from SLQ team members.
State Library of Queensland’s Siganto Digital Learning Program is a series of purpose driven workshops that help develop digital literacy in recently arrived communities. The unique workshops help to address the digital divide that can occur and present barriers for migrants and refugees forming broader connections within their community. The 2021 Australian Digital Inclusion Index (ADII) revealed that Queensland continues to fall behind the national average in key areas, particularly in digital ability and access.
The Siganto Digital Learning Workshops has produced an important model and materials for addressing this disparity, which becomes even more considerable in rural and regional communities. Digital curriculum resources developed as part of the project, released under a Creative Commons License, are hosted on State Library’s online Wiki and externally accessed nearly 6,000 times and have been recently published in multiple languages.
In 2021 State Library of Queensland engaged researchers from QUT’s Digital Media Research Centre (DMRC) to undertake an evaluation of the Siganto Digital Learning Workshops program, and to make recommendations for further digital inclusion work in the sector.
Adam Jefford and Daniel Flood from State Library Queensland will be presenting.
