Content
University to help migrants access online information
Australia might be seen as a land of opportunity for migrants, but their prospects here could be limited by a lack of access to online information.
To counter the prospect of migrants being disadvantaged by a “digital divide”, the Centre for Multicultural and Community Development (CMCD) at the University of the Sunshine Coast is embarking on a new research project.
CMCD director Narayan Gopalkrishnan said the centre had received a $127,000 grant from the State Government to develop strategies to deliver culturally relevant on-line resources for the non-government sector within culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
A particular focus of the research will be the use of information technology to support multicultural non-governmental agencies. This will enable community leaders and organisations to better support their community’s needs.
“It’s fairly ground-breaking in that there’s never been significant research into how migrant communities access information on the Internet,” Mr Gopalkrishnan said.
Mr Gopalkrishnan said the CMCD team would conduct interviews and hold focus groups with migrant groups across Queensland, including regional Queensland.
“There will be a particular focus on those of non-English speaking backgrounds,” he said.
“But language is just one barrier that migrants face: other issues include gender, age, culture and migration circumstances.
“We will look at migrants’ access to technology, look at whether they have the skills to work the technology, language issues and cultural issues among others.
“Migrants, especially recent migrants, may not have had access to information technology in their home countries’’ he said. “So are they able to be part of the mainstream here in Australia?”
Mr Gopalkrishnan said there was often a misconception that the Internet was the answer to everyone’s information needs.
“Technology can be easily viewed as a panacea for all our issues. It is seen as very accessible and as the answer to many problems,’’ he said.
“However, it’s also the cause of many problems. People who are marginalised already can be marginalised further by not having access to electronic information.”
He said one key aim of the project would be to enable better and more appropriate provision of information to migrant communities.
Mr Gopalkrishnan praised former USC academic Hurriyet Babacan for playing a pivotal role in establishing this project which he said would be completed by August.