IFLA SSA RDC Webinar on Digital inclusion: Digital inclusion in Sub Saharan Africa – the role of libraries
RECORDING AVAILABLE – Join IFLA’s Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Division Committee to explore the contribution that libraries can provide to making a reality of an inclusive internet and broader digital environment. 26 January 2023, 15:00-16:30 East Africa Time.
Libraries and librarians have continuously advocated for inclusive and equitable access to knowledge and information resources. Around the world, the digital divide is a common reality – particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa where data from the World Bank indicate that Internet penetration for individuals is hovering around 30% of the population. Despite the accelerated digitalisation of societies and economies during the Covid-19 pandemic, Sub-Saharan Africa is still the region with the widest coverage gap.
Addressing this and ensuring digital inclusion is nonetheless important to achieving the African Union Goals & Priority Areas of Agenda 2063 and Internet Governance. The rapid progression into the fourth industrial revolution may also mean that Sub-Saharan Africa may be unable to take full advantage of the opportunities this brings. To progress, we need to confront challenges, including low levels of internet use, sub-optimal digital adoption, and economic divides. In turn, to do this, it is imperative to tackle barriers to digital inclusion in a more holistic way – and libraries are well placed to contribute.
The IFLA Sub Saharan Africa Region Division therefore invites you to a webinar that seeks to assess and address the role of libraries/librarians in supporting and promoting digital inclusion within their communities in Sub-Saharan Africa.
When: 26 January 2023
Time: 3:00PM East African Time (see what time this is for you)
Speakers:
- Prof. Tom Kwanya – East Africa Region – Presentation available
- Dr Salubi Oghenere – South Africa Region – Presentation available
- Mrs Comfort Asare – West Africa Region – Presentation available
- Mr Antonin Diouf – Francophone Africa – Presentation available
BIOGRAPHIES
Dr Tom Kwanya
Professor Kwanya works at the Department of Information and Knowledge Management, the Technical University of Kenya. He is currently also serving as the Director of the School of Information and Communication Studies. Prior to joining academia fulltime in 2013, he worked as a consultant on public information and knowledge management. Prof. Kwanya is a published author of several peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, two university-level books, several conference papers and four edited books. He has also supervised and examined several postgraduate dissertations and theses. He has served as an external examiner of information science in several universities in Kenya and abroad. He sits in the Information Science Services Technical Committee of the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS).
Dr Salubi Oghenere
Dr Oghenere Salubi is an educationalist, data scientist and librarian who made a combinational transition to computational social sciences, and data analytics in the broader social sciences and humanities disciplines. A Senior Lecturer at the University of the Western Cape’s Department of Library and Information Science, Dr Salubi also volunteers as a Data instructor for The Carpentries, where he teaches computational research data management and analytical tools.
Mrs Comfort Asare
Mrs. Comfort Asare currently holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science with History from the University of Ghana, Legon and a Master of Arts Degree in Librarianship from the same University. In addition, she has a Masters in Information Technology from the University of Pretoria, South Africa and a Certificate in Para-Legal Studies.
She is the University Librarian at the Wisconsin International University College, Ghana with over sixteen years working experience in the field of librarianship. She has participated in a number of local and international conferences in Ghana, South Africa and Kenya.
At the continental level, she is the Chair of the National Library Associations Section of the African Library and Information Associations and Institutions (AfLIA). Currently, she is the President of the Ghana Library Association. She has a number of publications to her credit.
Antonin Diouf
Antonin Diouf has thirty years of experience working as a Librarian in the academic and research field. He does professional research on the LIS environment, especially in the use of technologies related.
From the University Cheikh Anta Diop of Dakar, Antonin got two Masters of Science (MSc), respectively in Library studies and in Information technology applied to LIS. He has written several professional articles in peer-reviewed journals, about one hundred blogposts for fourteen years now, book chapters and a published book. Antonin is a prolific speaker on topics related to LIS issues in Africa, provided lectures, and facilitated several workshops for the past twenty years
Besides that practical professional background, Antonin is very active in both national and international professional organisations such as IFLA, where he used to be the Information coordinator of the Information Literacy Section, and now part of the ISBD for Manifestation revision workgroup, and a co-opted member of the Sub-Saharan Regional Division committee.