An infrastructure for empowered internet citizens | IGF 2023 Networking Session #158

Audience

The role of libraries is evolving alongside the advancements in internet access. Several cases have been presented, highlighting the changing nature of libraries and their ability to adapt to the needs of patrons in the digital age. Internet access has enabled libraries to offer a wider range of services and resources, promoting digital inclusion.

The Digital Inclusion Index model is highly relevant for all countries. Trish Hepworth emphasizes the significance of this model, which assesses countries’ progress in terms of digital inclusion. It considers factors such as internet access, technology availability, and digital skills, helping countries identify areas for improvement and bridge the digital divide.

Taking knowledge to rural areas is a beneficial approach, promoting knowledge sharing, socialization, and exposure among youth. This strategy addresses limited educational opportunities in rural regions and has received positive feedback for connecting rural communities with educational resources.

Sensitization on academic publishing and compliance with legal frameworks is crucial. Johanna highlights challenges in publishing academic work, such as vetting content and legal compliance. Greater awareness of publishing procedures and legal requirements is necessary to promote quality education.

Establishing education facilities in impoverished rural areas is challenging. Johanna’s personal experience running a small institution in a poverty-stricken rural area in Kenya demonstrates the difficulties faced. Innovative solutions and support from stakeholders are needed to overcome these barriers.

Creating shared knowledge spaces for learners from different institutions offers advantages. Johanna expresses enthusiasm for shared learning spaces that foster collaboration and knowledge exchange. This approach promotes a sense of community and enhances the learning experience.

In conclusion, the evolving role of libraries, the relevance of the Digital Inclusion Index, the benefits of taking knowledge to rural areas, the need for sensitization on academic publishing, and the challenges of establishing education facilities in impoverished rural areas are essential considerations for ensuring quality education. Shared knowledge spaces further enhance collaboration and idea sharing. By addressing these aspects, society can work towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goal of quality education for all.

Erick Huerta Velázquez

The use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) is playing a crucial role in preserving and disseminating local knowledge in indigenous communities. This is particularly important as local knowledge in these communities is often oral and unwritten. By utilising local storage and Internet access, ICTs enable the documentation and preservation of this knowledge through recordings and videos.

One notable initiative in this field is the Rizomatica project, which collaborates with indigenous communities to help them develop their own media and conduct research. This empowers these communities to digitise and preserve their local knowledge, which might otherwise be lost. By incorporating ICTs into their cultural practices, these communities are able to create comprehensive reservoirs of knowledge and bridge the gap between traditional and digital libraries.

There are also real-world examples of communities successfully integrating traditional and digital libraries. One such example is Quetzalan, which has established a communication centre. This centre serves as a hub for both traditional and digital resources, allowing community members to access and contribute to the preservation of their local knowledge. Additionally, there are indigenous communities that have taken it one step further by running their own mobile networks and even establishing public intranets within their libraries. These initiatives demonstrate how ICTs can bring together multiple concepts of libraries, creating inclusive spaces for the preservation and dissemination of local knowledge.

Furthermore, community collaborations play a vital role in effectively preserving and disseminating local knowledge. A partnership between UNESCO and local communities in Mexico has resulted in the development of a policy for indigenous community radios. This policy promotes the establishment and operation of community radios, which act as platforms for sharing and promoting indigenous knowledge. In another example, Phonotech has assisted a 60-year-old community radio in restoring and archiving old tapes, thereby making them accessible nationwide. These efforts highlight the importance and effectiveness of community collaborations in preserving and amplifying local knowledge through various channels.

In conclusion, ICTs, community collaborations, and the integration of traditional and digital libraries are powerful tools in the preservation and dissemination of local knowledge within indigenous communities. By harnessing the potential of technology, these communities can document, digitise, and preserve their unique and valuable oral traditions. The partnerships formed with organisations and initiatives such as Rizomatica, UNESCO, and Phonotech further enhance the impact and reach of these preservation efforts. Ultimately, the combination of ICTs and community collaborations contributes to the comprehensive and inclusive representation of indigenous cultures and their local knowledge.

yasuyo inoue

Libraries play a crucial role in bridging the gap between rural and urban areas, reducing inequality, and promoting social and economic development. They achieve this by utilizing information and communication technology (ICT) techniques, which enable them to provide essential services and resources to areas with limited access. By harnessing the power of ICT, libraries ensure that people in rural areas have equal opportunities to access information, education, and other resources that are readily available in urban areas.

In addition to being information hubs, libraries serve as important community activity centers, preserving culture, history, and promoting education. They provide a safe and inclusive space for people to come together, engage in various activities, and cultivate a sense of belonging. Libraries often host community events, such as workshops, lectures, and exhibitions, catering to the diverse interests and needs of the community. This active engagement with the community helps libraries become vital institutions that promote social cohesion and cultural preservation.

Libraries also play a significant role in supporting education and lifelong learning. They serve as educational centers, offering access to a wide range of educational resources and materials. Libraries house books, journals, online databases, and other materials essential for research and learning. By providing these resources, libraries create opportunities for individuals to expand their knowledge, acquire new skills, and pursue personal growth. Additionally, libraries support formal education systems by providing study spaces, access to computers and the internet, and assistance from knowledgeable staff.

Furthermore, libraries have the potential to stimulate the local economy by forming connections with businesses and supporting local industries. By collaborating with local businesses, libraries can showcase their products and services, attracting customers and contributing to their success. For example, a small-town library in Shiwa features exhibitions that highlight the local business of sake brewing, promoting tourism and local commerce. Additionally, libraries can collaborate with agricultural co-operators to organize weekly vegetable markets, supporting local farmers and promoting sustainable agriculture. Through these partnerships, libraries contribute to the growth of the local economy and foster community pride.

In conclusion, libraries play a vital role in society, connecting rural and urban areas, reducing inequality, and fostering social and economic development. Through the use of ICT, libraries ensure equal access to information and resources. They also serve as community hubs, preserving culture, promoting education, and supporting lifelong learning. Furthermore, libraries can stimulate the local economy by collaborating with businesses and supporting local industries. Embracing and strengthening libraries is crucial for creating more inclusive and equitable communities.

Patricia Hepworth

The analysis highlights the importance of digital inclusion in Australia, with a focus on the disparities that exist between metropolitan areas and regional/remote areas. The Digital Inclusion Index in Australia provides statistics on digital inclusion across the entire population. There is a significant difference in the digital inclusion scores between metropolitan areas and regional/remote Australia. This discrepancy is also observed in the lower digital inclusion index among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples compared to the general Australian population. The study also reveals that digital exclusion and abilities online vary significantly across different age groups.

Libraries in Australia play a crucial role in addressing digital exclusion. They provide essential support and services in educating people on how to use computers, mobile phones, and stay safe online. Libraries are especially valuable in facilitating community-based connections and nationwide digital collections. For instance, Hume Libraries, located in a highly multicultural area, have implemented successful digital inclusion programs. These programs have been effective in harnessing the existing infrastructure, people, and community relations to promote digital literacy.

The analysis also reveals that libraries can provide a tailor-made and localized approach to delivering digital literacy programs. In collaboration with a local university, Hume Libraries worked towards delivering digital literacy programs specifically designed for culturally and linguistically diverse communities. This approach ensures that the programs meet the specific needs of the target audience while leveraging the resources and expertise available in the community.

Furthermore, discussions at the Asia Pacific Regional Internet Governance Forum highlighted the importance of digital inclusion. While there was not a direct library representative at the Brisbane meeting, discussions centered around the Digital Inclusion Index and the role of bodies like libraries in promoting digital inclusion. This demonstrates that digital inclusion is a recognized and important topic in regional forums and that libraries are seen as significant contributors to this agenda.

In addition to addressing digital exclusion, libraries also play a significant role in improving digital skills and AI media literacy. Libraries serve as important institutions for adults who are not in formal education to enhance their digital skills and acquire AI media literacy. With the advent of generative AI, the need for digital skills and AI media literacy is increasing, making libraries even more crucial in supporting individuals in acquiring these skills.

To conclude, the analysis underscores the critical importance of digital inclusion in Australia and the need to bridge the gaps that exist. Libraries have proven to be invaluable in addressing digital exclusion, providing support, resources, and digital literacy programs. The discussions held at regional forums further emphasize the role of libraries in promoting digital inclusion. Additionally, libraries play a vital role in improving digital skills and AI media literacy, supporting individuals, particularly adults not in formal education, in acquiring the necessary skills for an increasingly digital world.

Moderator – Maria De Brasdefer

During the conference, several speakers emphasised the role of the internet in empowering societies and advancing access to information. Maria de Brasdefer, one of the speakers, highlighted that meaningful access to the internet leads to societies where citizens can make better-informed decisions, ultimately resulting in more democratic societies. This argument is supported by the notion that when individuals have access to a wide range of information and resources, they are able to participate more actively in social and political processes.

Another important point discussed was the significance of documenting local knowledge and leveraging library infrastructure to ensure accessible internet. Maria underlined the importance of preserving local knowledge by presenting four case studies at the conference. These case studies showcased how local communities have utilised ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies) to document and store important aspects of their culture, such as songs, stories, and traditional practices. Additionally, community radios and initiatives like the itinerant museum were highlighted as effective ways to share and preserve local knowledge. However, it was also pointed out that challenges such as high humidity could cause the deterioration of stored materials, indicating the need for proper storage facilities and preservation techniques.

Furthermore, Maria and other speakers asserted that libraries can play a pivotal role in digital empowerment. They argued that libraries are essential in providing access to information, fostering media literacy, and offering coding lessons and training. The audience, participating in interactive questions using menti.com, agreed that libraries can contribute significantly to digital empowerment in various ways.

Overall, it was concluded that the internet and library infrastructure are powerful tools in advancing access to information and empowering societies. The promotion and preservation of local knowledge through the use of ICTs were also deemed crucial. The conference highlighted the positive impact that these initiatives can have on promoting more democratic societies, enhancing education, and expanding opportunities for individuals and communities.

Woro Titi Haryanti

The speakers underscored the critical role of knowledge discovery and digital transformation in libraries and their impact on the community. They emphasised that libraries play a vital role in preserving knowledge, conducting research, providing reference materials, and fostering networking opportunities. The implementation of digital platforms, such as Indonesian OneSearch and e-PUSNAS, was specifically mentioned as a means to enhance access to public collections and digital books.

Moreover, there was a strong advocacy for integrating libraries into the national data infrastructure. The National Library was recognised for its contribution to the development of the national data centre. This integration would enable libraries to further support the digital transformation efforts of the country.

The sentiment towards these initiatives was overwhelmingly positive. People acknowledged the value and importance of embracing digital technologies and using them to modernise and enhance library services. The speakers and the overall analysis suggested that by embracing digital transformation, libraries would be able to better serve the needs of their communities, improving access to information and fostering knowledge exchange.

Additionally, the discussion highlighted the broader significance of this digital transformation for the country as a whole. By integrating libraries into the national data infrastructure, the government can harness the wealth of information and resources available in libraries to fuel innovation, drive industry growth, and promote sustainable development.

In conclusion, the importance of knowledge discovery and digital transformation in libraries, as well as their integration into the national data infrastructure, was emphasised. The positive sentiment towards these initiatives highlighted the potential benefits they hold for both libraries and the wider community. This analysis provided valuable insights into the role of libraries in the digital age and the steps that can be taken to ensure their relevance and impact in an increasingly digital world.

Moderator – Maria De Brasdefer:
We’re good? Okay, so hi everyone and good afternoon. First of all, I would like to welcome you to this session. My name is Maria de Bras de Fer and I work as a policy and research officer for the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. So today and also in view of this year’s IGF theme, The Internet We Want, what we would really like to do is to take this opportunity not just to present a series of short cases to you, but also to exchange and explore with you the topic of digital empowerment and to approach it from a slightly different perspective. So of course we know that the fact that you’re here sitting in this room just as well as all the other many people who are attending the IGF this year, it means that you’re already aware of the great value that lies in using the internet as a tool to advance access to information, but also and more importantly on the great value that meaningful access has on our societies as a whole. We also know that a society where citizens can make better informed decisions will automatically translate into a more democratic society where people will exercise their citizenship in a more participatory way, but ultimately they’ll also be able to uphold their rights both inside and outside digital spaces. But of course saying that, it’s the easy part, so we are aware of that and in that case the real question remains how can we do that and also what are the best approaches for this. So having this in mind, today we would really like to present you with a short series of four five-minute case studies that will look at the themes that lie at the intersection between digital empowerment, the documentation of local knowledge, but also the mobilization of the global library infrastructure to help people access the internet and make the most of it. So for this we have four speakers with us today. I think my slides are not showing, yeah, there it is. So we have Eric Huerta Velazquez from Rizomatika in a collaboration with CIDSAG and APC. We also have Woro Titi Haryanti from the National Library of Indonesia. We have also Trish Hepworth from the Australian Library and Information Association who will be joining us online. And we also have Yasuyo Inoue from the Tokyo University in Japan. But before we dive into these case studies, what we would like to do is also we would really like to hear from you because as we’re not many today, it would be good to exchange more. So we would like to do a quick reflection exercise with you first. So for this, and in case you’re not familiar with it, you can either scan the QR code with your phone or you can enter the website www.menti.com and then you will see a space where you can enter the code 18381615. I will give you a couple seconds. So now what you should see on your phones is the following question. So we have the question of have you thought about how can libraries contribute to digital empowerment? If you’ve thought about it before, you can share how, in what ways, and in case you haven’t, you can also share no, it never crossed my mind, or simply no. So far we only have one yes. These responses are anonymous, but of course you will also be able to comment on them at the end of the session if you’d like. So we have a second response, yes, media literacy, awareness, coding lessons, et cetera, yes, that’s very accurate. We have another just a yes. More yeses. So that’s good. We don’t have any noes so far. Device knowledge, which is not yet digital, yeah, that’s a very interesting one, too. So I think we don’t have any other replies, but this is good news, because it means that all of us were more or less on the same page about it. It means that we’ve thought about it before, but maybe we don’t know exactly how. And this is also why we’re here gathered today, to discuss a little bit about that and give you some insights on that. So for this, it is time now for our first presentation. So our first presenter will be Mr. Eric Huerta. So Eric works at Rizomatica in collaboration with CITSAG and APC, and he’s also an expert of the International Telecommunication Union for connectivity issues related to remote and indigenous people, and has served as a co-rapporteur on development of information technology and communication in remote areas and groups with unattended needs. Eric, please go ahead.

Erick Huerta Velázquez:
Thank you, and I’m sorry for being late. I got lost within the rooms. It looks very similar, and I went to the different ones. Our work in Rizomatica is mainly with indigenous communities, and so that made me think about what we could share in this session. It was more about, well, the role of libraries, but also just to question what is a library for everyone, and maybe if it does the same. I think one of the things that, like, it’s a barrier for the use of the Internet. For some people, it’s that it’s non-meaningful content within the Internet. That’s explained as one of the barriers of Internet adoption, and some of them is about the content. Sometimes some communities even say, well, when they have to take a decision on which technology they have to use, sometimes some communities refuse to get into the Internet because of the kind of content that people will find there, that sometimes have no relations to the reality, or sometimes it’s exposed to certain content that they don’t want to be exposed to that specific content. So, well, that made me think about, can we put the first one? Well, that’s the sort of communities we work with. We help many, we work together with indigenous communities that want to run their own media, such as community radios, such as community mobile networks, no? They are under their own mobile networks, and also we have this applied research program in which communities define which sort of local research that they want to do for a specific task, and there’s some examples, no? So there, you have the opening of a communication center in a rural area in Quetzalan, that’s some of the sort of the communities that have their own mobile network, and this is a community in the south of Mexico that works a lot with traditional medicine, and that’s the project. The next, please. So my first question is, what is a library, no? So when we think about a library, so we mainly think in the picture that is in our left, but when you talk with some communities, and what is a library for them, it’s this, no? It’s the territory, because most of the territory, it’s talking, it’s saying, it’s where they learn, it’s where they teach each other, it’s where they, it’s where they gather the local knowledge and this meaningful knowledge to manage and understand the territory. And so, how do we put together these different concepts of library, or this reservoir of knowledge that it’s in the nature on the territory of the communities, and the concept of library that we find in books, no, and the storages of knowledge in books, no? And what are the chances that the internet give us to do so? So the next one. So I think that ICTs can bring together these two concepts of library, mainly because most of the knowledge, for instance, in the communities, it’s oral knowledge, no? And it’s more related to knowledge that is full in practice, no, it’s not actually, so for many of the languages there are oral, are starting to be written, but not, but mainly are languages that are not written. And so, that is the main difficulty of bringing local knowledge into the libraries, because the libraries are mainly related to books. But when we bring ICTs into a library, even if it doesn’t have a connectivity, but has a local storage and that, then you can bring inside songs, then you can bring inside music, then you can bring videos, then you can bring all those stories that form part of the local knowledge of the communities. And so, this sort of work is mainly what many communities are interested on. So for instance, in this picture that it’s in my right, they are sharing, these persons are sharing their recovery, well, experience on the recovery of some of the local language and the local variety of their languages and bringing out some words and bringing out some stories and some research they did on that. And then, this space, they are having a workshop on how to put this knowledge together in a handbook, on a manual, and so on, so that they could share it better with other peoples. So that’s the idea. The other photograph is from a community that was one of the first in having these mobile, self-mobile networks. And also, they have a university, and they have a library from the university as well. But one of the things that they were more interested in complementing this library was the intranet. They said, well, we got this library, we got the books here, but we need a lot of, we need to document a lot of the findings that we are having from our knowledge. We also need to bring all the videos, the music that we need for. And that’s a complementary part of the library of the local university, of the indigenous local university. And then, the next one, please. And then, in this one, I wanted to share in the recent years, we have been, we mainly work with, from a long time ago, with community radios. But this, also, we open this local research program from, that bring us some other different experiences through. So, I’m going to talk about these two experiences, two chances that we have to bring and document specific knowledge. We got, with UNESCO, some consultations to develop the policy for indigenous community radios in Mexico. And from there, some needs came, some specific needs came, and some of them were specifically related with local archives of the radios. So, a lot of the, so the radios, and this one in the left, it’s a radio that was the first community radio of Mexico, so it’s about 60 years old, this community radio. And they have a splendid archive of many of the voices, knowledge, festivals, and so on. And was about to get lost, because that’s an area that is very humid and so on. So, when expressing the needs of being in this local archive, the phonotech take interest in that, and help them to restore the tapes, and also they are now keeping them, they have a copy, and they are now keeping in the phonotech now, so it has access for, well, they ensure that this archive will last forever. And then also, some communities, they decide together that some community radios decided to have a one-hour program every week, and that’s in the national radio. And so that’s, that has become also an important reservoir for knowledge in the communities. For instance, it has, they determine which are the subjects they want to talk about, but they, each of these programs is really… rich in knowledge, because some, for instance, some of them talked about the textiles, and they bring together a lot of information that is not in the books, is not in there, because it comes from the person there. And well, these other two, yes, very quickly, one is a community that started the research because they were Afro-descendant, and they wanted to be what the origin of them was. And the last one is another indigenous community that they run their itinerant museum, and these pictures that you see there, then you touch these pictures, and then they play the music or they play the stories of that. And that, well, that was what I wanted to show you for the last one, and we want, thank you very much. And we wanted to share on these possibilities of using the ICTs to incorporate local knowledge in libraries, and those are where you can find more information about it. Thank you.

Moderator – Maria De Brasdefer:
Thank you so much, Eric, for sharing all these nice cases with us, but also to emphasize on the importance of not just promoting local knowledge and building up local knowledge, but also on the importance of storing it, and how hard it is sometimes for certain communities to access not only their own knowledge, but also to store it sometimes, and also the role that libraries that play in it. So thank you so much for sharing it. So please keep in mind that there will be a space for asking questions to the speakers, but now we’re going to move on towards our next presentation. So our next presenter will be Woro Titi Haryanti. So Woro, as I mentioned, she’s a senior librarian from the National Library of Indonesia, and she has also been working in capacity development for librarians and also library technicians across Indonesia for more than 30 years. So go ahead, Woro.

Woro Titi Haryanti:
Thank you. Yes. I agree with Eric said that what is library is a reservoir of knowledge, and I’m going to tell you that what the National Library rules to reveal the knowledge discovery to the community. Yes. Yeah. And go to the second. Next please. Yeah. Okay. Next please. Yeah. This is the presidential directive, five steps to be taken to accelerate the national digital transformation. This is not the area of the National Library, but this is close related to the National Library. It is the function of the Ministry of Communication and Information. It should be taken into immediate action to expand the internet access and develop digital infrastructure and provide internet services for all. I mean, there is a targeted for the people, the population to get the access to the internet, and this is important for us as a library. So as long as they get the access, then the knowledge can be transferred there. And then the second, it’s targeted about 196,000,000, 7,014, and 70, that is the targeted to get the access of the internet. And then we have to prepare transformation digital roadmap for the government, strategic for public services, social ads, and et cetera. And then the third is to take immediate action to integrate national data center. This is also a library can contribute the data that is to be restored in the national data center. And then into taking it down into the need of the digital talents. This is also important for us, because through this digital talent, that there will be training. There will be training for peoples to be able to access the internet. That is, well, it targeted quite a lot from the Ministry of Communication. And this facilitates to this data center, that national data center, it needs to facilitate all the governments to restore their, to store their data, and then can be accessible for the community. And this also, the digital talent include digital literacy. Their target is all over Indonesia. They collaborate with 12 ministries, private sectors, and communities. Digital skills, digital culture, digital ethic, and digital safety. This will be covered in the curriculum, digital society, digital economy, and digital government. And then they divide, they put it into two categories for the training, that is the training for the skills for proficient class, and then also the empowering the cyber creativities that is the inclusion class. And this, next please, and this also directed from the president for the libraries. To improve and expand access to the digital libraries in order to accelerate the human resource development who will master science and technology, improve creativities and innovations to the create job opportunities, reduce unemployment rate, increase income per capita, as well as increase foreign exchange to create prosperity for all. That is the directive to the library. Next. This is the function of the role and the function of the national libraries. Yes, as the library, as the networking center, and also the preservation center. This networking means that we will collaborate with other institutions and then make a network to create more local knowledge, create knowledge that can be shared together. And then preservation center, as this also we have to localize their local information, local content that should be preserved and also can be accessed. And then this research center, depository center, and reference library center, and of course this library development center, but in here, this is the role of national library. And we have also obligation, next thing, we have the obligation to develop library national system in supporting national education system and guarantee the sustainability of libraries as a learning center. That’s again that we have to provide them with the access and also the content. And guarantee the availability of the library services throughout the nations and guarantee availability of collections through translation, transliteration, transcription, and transmedia. And also we promote reading habits and also develop library collection and develop national library itself. And we also have to be developed and appreciate those who preserve conservative and conserve manual. Next, please. Yes, this is libraries is not yet fully integrated to the national data infrastructure. Yes, it is to implement what the directive of the presidents that the national library is as part of the government, so we have to contribute to send our data to the national data center because this is an example of NLE, that’s the national library. And then we have two that actually enlist and then one search. Enlist is the open, what is it, the application for, what is it, to do the library management that is based on the mark base and then online. One search that I will talk about it later on. And also IPUSNAS, it can be accessed all over Indonesia. And other ministry will do the same thing. Next, please. Yes, this is knowledge discovery that is the, we have the Indonesian OneSearch. And here is the Indonesian OneSearch is single search portal for all public collection from libraries. At the moment, we can collect, we can have the 12,608,000 records. And then also the member is around 11,000, sorry, it’s more than, not 11,000, actually this is for the repositories, the repository itself is 11,000. And this is connected almost all the libraries in Indonesia. Not all, but mostly about more than 20% of the libraries in Indonesia is connected to us. And this is for the, the system is for the anti-plagiarism tool, subject analysis tools. And OII, OPH, Open Archive Initiatives. Next. Yeah, this is the institution I mentioned, this library institution is 300, librarians, the repository is 4,000, and then the repository institution is 11,000. It’s a very big knowledge can be reserved there. So we can, more and more knowledge is coming, then we also motivate those who are not yet become part of this program, they have to join us. And we also give them freedom to whether they want to send it to us, it’s only the abstract or only the metadata or full text is up to their policy in individual’s institutions. And we have that, what is it, the contributors, it’s quite a lot, National Library, of course, the biggest contributors, and also there’s a university, yeah, that’s also contribute their collections to us. Next please. Yeah, this is the e-mobile. We have the e-PUSNAS that I mentioned earlier, yes, this is, we have that social media-based library provide digital books to read, share, and shop. This application available on mobile, and then using digital right management and technology as the security. And in this also, we have the menu is for e-donations, for those who write books and then want to donate their books and give the right to the National Library. So you can, and up to now we have around 140 books that is donated to the National Library, and that is free, then everybody can access it. Well we can, it doesn’t have the royalty things, no, we are not talking about the royalty things because we can give it, what’s it, voluntarily, and it’s free. Okay, next. And this is another one, this is the, our latest is Bintang Purposedu, this is for the education, and we work quite close to the Minister of Education, and also Minister of Religion. Why Minister of Religion? Because Minister of Religion, they also have schools that we can collaborate in. And this platform provide to improve access to the digital content for schools and universities. The contents are varied, such as audio books, video books, educational tutorials, scientific journals, all of this can be accessed via multiple platforms. The total collections that we have in here is for elementary schools, a total collection, for the elementary schools is 26,000-something, and then junior high school is 22,000-something, and senior high school is 50,000, and then university is 262,000-something, and the digital books from the Minister of Religion, we have 58,000, and from the Minister of Education we have 1,063,000 books that is stored there, so it can be accessible for the community. I think next, yeah, next, oh, this is, sorry, yeah, this is for the eResources, eResources is the service that we have, this is digital collection for Service National Library Indonesia, which are either subscribed or made independently by the National Library. It means that we subscribe the books that I think everybody is familiar with here, and there’s one, there is Niliti, that’s mainly for the research for the manuscript, and also there’s Balai Pustaka, that is we digitize their book, and then we put it here, and this is free, and to be able to access this, you have to be the member of the National Library, and you can do it online to become the National Library members, and the National Library memberships with the membership number, we now connect it to our national ID, and that’s it, integrated. Thank you, that’s all, I think.

Moderator – Maria De Brasdefer:
Thank you so much, Woro, for sharing this case, too, yeah, I can also think it is indeed an interesting example of a case that can be followed by other libraries, but not just in terms of digital empowerment, but also in terms of economic growth that is tied to the use of libraries, so thank you so much for sharing that with us, and now we’re going to move on to the next case, which is the case from Trish Hepworth, who is the Director on Policy and Education for the Australian Library and Information Association, and she works across the sector to empower the workforce, and also strengthen libraries to achieve a socially just and progressive society.

Patricia Hepworth:
Thank you, Maria, and I wish I was there, but thank you very much for having me. I’d like to acknowledge today that I’m coming from the lands of the Ngunnawal and the Gambri people, and pay my respects to elders past and present. Maria, are my slides up? Thank you, perfect, brilliant. I guess I wanted just to very quickly have a little bit of a look at what this looks like from Australia. So in Australia we have an index called the Digital Inclusion Index that gives us statistics about digital inclusion across the whole population, and the Digital Inclusion Index measures the accessibility, the affordability, and the ability of people online, and then basically gives a score. What you can see up there is some of the various vectors that we know are wildly different across the country. So Australia is a very concentrated metropolitan kind of a country. Most of our population lives in cities along the coast, and there is a huge difference between the digital inclusion scores in metropolitan areas, which are quite high, and the digital inclusion scores in regional and remote Australia, which are much lower. Similarly, for our First Nations people, so the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia, we can see that they have a much lower digital inclusion index than the Australian population generally. But again, in particular, the further you go from those metropolitan areas, the lower the digital inclusion index. Now the next slide, please, Maria. And across all of the different vectors, we see a really significant change across age grounds. So this graph on your screen at the moment talks about digital exclusion. So it’s looking at those two bits around accessibility and affordability. Now, as you can see, for younger age groups, the ability to access digital worlds to be online is much higher. And as you go through the older age groups, that accessibility really drops. And if I could have the next slide, Maria. And that probably unsurprisingly goes with ability as well. So and we see this across all of the things, the accessibility and the ability of people are closely correlated. So people with the most access also have the most ability and comfort online, those with the least access. So First Nations people, regional people, older people, they have the least ability online. If I could have the next slide to have a look at what that actually looks like in practice, only 23 percent of Australians were confident that they could edit a video and post it online. So the fundamental ability to be on TikTok, for example, is only shared by a quarter of people in Australia, only 35 percent. So just over a third were confident that they could work out if they were being harassed online and if they were being harassed, what they could do with it or which authorities they could report it to. And if I could have the next slide. While people’s abilities and media literacy is quite low, people’s interest in being secure and able digital citizens is very high. So when you ask people, they are really keen to know how they can protect themselves from scams. They want to use media across all the different forms of media to stay connected with community, to stay connected with friends and family. And if we have a look at the next slide, this is very much where libraries come in. So across the library systems and in particular libraries in educational institutions, so schools and TAFEs, which is our vocational education in Australia and universities and public libraries, we see that librarians are already working solidly in these areas. So you have the infrastructure from libraries to have the access to the Internet, as Waro and Eric have said, the ability to access community-based connections, but also nationwide digital collections. So you have those accessibility ports. But we also see with libraries is a huge role in bolstering that ability as well. So when you ask libraries, they are helping people find resources in the catalogue and they’re helping people find information online. But they’re also providing a basic support about how to use computers, how to use mobile phones, how to use the internet, how to use the Internet, how to use the Internet or about how to use mobile phones, how to stay safe online. And if we can have the next slide, I just wanted to do a very quick look at a little local library, Hume Libraries, which is based down on Narm, so on Wiradjuri country in Melbourne. So Hume Libraries is a very, is situated in a highly multicultural area. And so they can see that all of those cross the correlation. So they’ve got communities who have English as a second language, which is often one that looks at digital exclusion. They have older communities who often have English as a second language and they have outer metropolitan. So that’s another one where you will find people of lower digital literacy. If I could have the next slide. So Hume Libraries have run a huge amount of work in conjunction with the local university to actually run out a research project around how do we deliver digital literacy programs for culturally and linguistically diverse communities. And the thing about using the libraries is that the infrastructure was already there. So they were able to pull together the resources they had around community engagement. They were able to harness the people in the libraries and also the community relations that were already there. And they had a system in place for the programs. So working with these three together, they very successfully managed to tailor digital inclusion programs for called communities or culturally linguistically diverse communities that went across age ranges and abilities. So that looks different for different people. You might have people who are absolutely fluent in spoken English, but unable to do written English or perhaps need their content in video or audio format. You might have people have different accessibility issues. You need to be able to find case studies and ways of working with people that relate to collections that are important to them and communities in which they are already participating. So running these sort of programs in your local library means that you can have a very tailored experience where you leverage the ability to have those central points for access, but also then brings in all of the support from the libraries to upskill that ability piece. If I could have the very last slide. I think some of the takeaways that we would say from Australia’s experience is that it’s not easy. Libraries are there. The public libraries are in every different community across Australia. So we go regional and remote. We have linguistically diverse. We have the older people going in. There is no other organisation that is currently in a better position to be able to have the people already coming in the door with the access. But having said that, every single community is different. So one of the things that the culturally and linguistically diverse guidelines, for example, developed was a list, a toolkit for each library to then be able to work with local partners to build its own localised program. And the outcome of the program was that we had a group of people who went from being quite digitally nervous to being digitally confident. And that meant that they were more confident digital citizens, but they were also more confident citizens and better able to partake in Australian society and part of democratic society. So it was a resounding success as one case study. It’s replicated across the country. And I hope that was of some interest to you all. Thank you.

Moderator – Maria De Brasdefer:
Thank you, Trish, so much also for sharing the case of Australia. And also, I guess it’s really interesting also to see how a country as culturally diverse and linguistically diverse as Australia also, this could be seen as a challenge, but libraries seem to be addressing this in a very successful way, despite all the diversity there. So thank you so much for sharing this case. So as we’re running a bit out of time, I will move on to our next and last presenter, who is Yasuyo Inoue. And she will give us a local perspective on this topic. Yasuyo is a professor on public librarianship at the Tokyo University. And she has been a professor on other universities for more than 35 years, where she has been focusing mainly on children’s and young adult library service. And also in the past, she was also a member of the intellectual freedom at the library committee of the Japan Library Association. Please go ahead, Yasuyo. Thank you.

yasuyo inoue:
Thank you, Maria. The time is not enough, and I didn’t bring so many slides. So I just wanted to say that some general informations based on in Japan, but right now, from elementary school to junior high and senior high, most of the kids have their own tablet or PC. So as for the technical things that they know how to use their computers, but the problem is that the lack of content. That’s why the library needs some roles to provide informations to the kid. And maybe 50 years later, most of the Japanese people can use any kind of the computers, but it’s later on. So right now, what the library should do, I think library can do that with using ICT techniques. The library can connect to a rural area and urban area. There’s the unfair situation right now, but they can connect to these unfair situations or maybe different strong direct area we can connect to each other through the materials on the informations at the libraries. Overall, the library has three roles. One is, as the other speakers mentioned, that kind of a community activity center, as Eric said, preserve their own culture or traditions. And another one is kind of educational or learning center or information center. So not only books, but also a lot of data. So in that sense, library is a kind of a data center. So we concentrated and stocked a lot of big data. And now the many public libraries in Japan, especially prefecture library, big libraries, they want to digitalize those traditional historical materials into digitalized materials and provides to the users. Especially National Diet Library, that National Central Library in Japan, they have the so huge big data. So they changed their National Diet Library role and changed the copyright role. Now they provide the data via internet. So the content provides to the each users. So more libraries can provide more data, not only big National Diet Library level, but also local public library make the community get together. Like a slide right now, it’s a very small town library, Shiwa Library, close to the Morioka City. I don’t know why New York Times said that Morioka foreigners should visit, I don’t know. But this is a small town library, but the central photo that is a Japanese sake, they just exhibit inside the library and they show that how they make brew the sake. And sometimes they tell the people how to brew and what is the taste and what is the character of the sake. So they wanted to show that their local business to the people at the library. And the right side, that is the library connect to the agriculture corporation. So once a week, there was a kind of the vegetable market in front of the library. So people buy the vegetable and they come into the library and there’s a collection of the recipe. So which vegetable did you buy? You can use this recipe at your own home. So the agriculture business and the library connected to Kinley on the wall where the farmers grown up the vegetables in that local area. So the library stimulate the local business. So I think that is another community activity center that library played it. So not only the real things, but also maybe in the future, more small town library will provide the digital materials. So if you have any trouble or questions, go to the local library. So maybe they will help you how to expand your local business. Thank you.

Moderator – Maria De Brasdefer:
Thank you. Thank you so much. Yes, through and also all of you who are here today. And yeah, I think, well as a final remark, I can only say that if we see all these cases that you presented, you can also see how the role of libraries, well you can see this common factor in all the cases about how the role of libraries really is evolving and yeah, with time and also with the use of internet and access and all that the communities can get out of it at a local level. So thank you very much for sharing it. So now we still have a couple minutes left. So I would like to open the floor for the people who are here to ask any questions to the speakers. I don’t know if we have any questions online. No, okay. Yeah. Okay.

Audience:
Thank you. I did have a question for Trish Hepworth, but is she still online? She is. I am. Oh, you are, great. Good to see you. Trish, we had some contacts within IFLA in the past couple of years. And one of the contacts we had was that you made a presentation at a library webinar that I organized in the framework of the Asia Pacific Regional Internet Governance Forum. And that was, when was that? Two years ago, I forget precisely. But I wanted to ask you, was there anybody at the Brisbane meeting in August this year, the Brisbane meeting of the Asia Pacific Regional Internet Governance Forum, was there anybody there who was talking about the contribution of libraries? Because it seems to me that your comments about the Digital Inclusion Index are highly relevant to all countries. In fact, you’ve got a model there which we should all probably imitate, that is, countries which haven’t got one should have one, have that sort of system and monitor it and develop it. But was there anybody at Brisbane who was talking about library information services, whether on the coast, as you said, in the metropolitan areas or in the outback, in remote areas? Do you know?

Patricia Hepworth:
Thanks, Winston, for the questions. We didn’t have an Ali or a library representative as such, but we definitely had people who were at that forum talking to things like the Digital Inclusion Index and also to the role of other sort of bodies, such as libraries. And I think it’s, you know, one thing I know is very top of mind for our policy makers in Australia at the moment is the increasing need around things like media literacy and digital skills with the rise of generative AI. And that’s certainly something that we know is getting a lot of attention in sort of big structural things. So, you know, there’s both the doom and gloom. I know how will people be able to detect AI scams or what does this mean for the future of internet search? But also those huge potentials. So when you’re, you know, working with people who might have lower levels of written literacy, the ability to use generative AI to help support them with job applications or even in writing search and prompts is huge. And so certainly from a policy perspective at the moment, I think there’s a really important role for libraries to play in that digital skills and that AI media literacy space, which realistically, if you don’t have libraries doing that work in a country like Australia, there isn’t anybody else where adults who are not in formal education really have to go.

Moderator – Maria De Brasdefer:
Thank you, Trish. So do we have any other questions from the floor?

Audience:
Okay, thank you. I am Johanna Munyao. I’m a member of County Assembly from Kenya. I want to appreciate the presenters for packaging the information in the right way. Very clear. And also I want to appreciate the approach of taking knowledge closer to our rural flock. As I do appreciate that, I’ve realized that this approach helps our young ones to come together, socialize, share knowledge, maybe also get exposed. And my question is whether there is sensitization on how we have realized that in the area of academia, the most tricky part is how to publish some of these works or maybe some of the activities so that others from elsewhere can be able to access the same information, access our experiences. Do we really ever contract feasibility studies to either vet on the content and also see the compliance of the same in terms of legal frameworks which may govern whatever you publish to be accessed through the internet? And again, I come from a rural area where the poverty levels are a threat, very low. So you’d realize it is like where the government is not able to come in and support fully, coming up with such structures, however good they are and I really appreciate, becomes a challenge. Personally, I am running an institution with a very tiny library. And the approach I’ve gotten from here has really enlightened me such that I have thought of only addressing the needs of the learners within that small institution. But I have seen other learners can come together from even other institutions and with such an access of such facility, be able to share knowledge and even be able to take it to a higher level of publishing the same in the internet and sharing the experiences with the world over. Thank you.

Moderator – Maria De Brasdefer:
Thank you so much. I think maybe we have time for one last question. Yeah. No? Yeah, well, I think we’re at the end of our session anyways but thank you so much to all the speakers who are here today and who presented and thank you so much for sharing your cases and your stories with us and also thank you for the attendees and the questions. Really, we really appreciate your presence and also if you would like to collaborate with us in the future or if you have any ideas for opportunities or collaboration with libraries, please feel free to reach out to us. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Trish. I don’t know if you can see me but can you hear me? Thank you, Trish. Thank you. I think this one belongs to her, but.