By LHorton 2 | December 11, 2018
By Winny Nekesa Akullo, Uganda Library and Information Associations
I won sponsorship from the International Association for Social Science Information Services and Technology (IASSIST) for a One-day Data workshop conducted on 29th November 2018 at the National Library of Uganda on behalf of the Uganda Library and Information Associations (ULIA). The workshop aimed at bringing together librarians from different institutions in Uganda to learn how to collect relevant and meaningful data to tell stories relating to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The workshop attracted 20 librarians from government departments, academia, public and community libraries.
The workshop was facilitated by Dr. Sarah Kaddu, the President, ULIA and Mr. Eric Haumba, Chief Librarian, YMCA Comprehensive Institute and moderated by Ms. Winny Nekesa Akullo, the Publicity Secretary of ULIA, IASSIST Event Liaison Officer and a member of IASSIST.
The workshop topics included; The UN 2030 Agenda and AU Agenda 2063; the role of libraries in the 2030 Agenda and" Telling Your Story" Tracking and Collection of Relevant Data Template for Documenting Stories. At the end of the workshop participants were presented with certificates of participations.
In his opening remarks, the Director of the National Library of Uganda, Mr. Adonia Katungisa, noted that the workshop was timely and more relevant to the librarians considering that the policy makers and researchers are now demanding for data and statistics to enable them make informed decisions and planning for the libraries in the country. Its therefore, time for people to know what libraries are doing.
Dr. Kaddu on the other hand emphasized that as librarians, “we need to work closely within the profession and other sectors to achieve UN 2030 Agenda”, she implored the participants to use statistics to advocate for positive change in their societies. Using relevant data is a very good way to support our advocacy and tell our stories. There is need to define the purpose for the data, what data do you need, where to find the data, explain the data and connect the numbers to the story you are trying to tell.
Therefore, there is need to strengthen data collection, management and dissemination to capture evidence to inform decision making.
Feedback from the participants indicated the objective of the workshop was fully achieved and the quality of the results at the workshop was high quality. The participants also recommended for establishment of a database/system to collect library statistics and activities countrywide and training in data literacy skills to ensure that data are used and interpreted correctly.
The Participants were very enthusiastic to be part of the workshop and also looked forward to joining IASSIST as members.
We are very grateful to IASSIST for its support without which this workshop wouldn’t have been possible.