Siganto Digital Learning Workshops

Since the beginning of 2019 three Siganto Digital Learning Workshop series have been delivered at State Library, two with Multicultural Development Australia (MDA) and one with Southbank TAFE’s English Language Migrant Education program.

The Workshops, generously funded by the Siganto Foundation, engage with recently arrived migrant communities and focus on ICT self-sufficiency.

Each series comprises four sessions over four consecutive weeks, with each workshop exploring a different aspect of digital literacy – including online safety, security and use of social media.

The program re-purposes old government computers that would otherwise be destined for landfill.

Students are taught about hardware, software and operating systems, and at the end of the course each participant takes home the computer they’ve rebuilt, and can use it for study, applying for jobs, or for fun.

One of the program’s first trainees, Mr Tamenya Gonzaga who moved to Australia from Uganda ten months ago, now helps facilitate the running of the workshops. This has proved very effective as he understands not only the language barriers, but as a fellow recent arrival, shares an affinity with the students.

The Siganto Digital Learning Workshops received great media coverage recently through the ABC, with video and audio coverage broadcast nationally.

Post from Twitter

Some of the participants from the 2019 sessions have returned to The Edge to use the facilities further, skill up in other areas and also volunteer their time to help produce content.

Article from ABC News website

The participants are very interested in areas such as audio and video production.

Michelle Brown from the Applied Creativity team encourages students to continue to use the space and come in for The Edge meet ups like Made Today to help build their skills and confidence.

Siganto Digital Learning Workshop participants

More than 100 students, aged between 15 and 30 years, have signed up to the course over the past year. All have been in Australia less than five years, with participants originating from Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq, Tanzania, Thailand, Syria, Congo, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Rwanda, Burundi and Myanmar.

Siganto Digital Learning Workshop participants

State Library of Queensland is immensely grateful to the Siganto Foundation for their on-going support of this program, which is enacting significant change in newly-arrived communities through learning and friendship.

Images: Siganto Digital Learning Workshop participants from Logan TAFE and Multicultural Development Association, January – June 2019.

This program is funded through the Queensland Library Foundation. For more information on how you can contribute to the work  of State Library of Queensland through the Queensland Library Foundation, please contact us on foundation@slq.qld.gov.au or (07) 3840 7767.