Chapter 3

DigiStronger for detainees in Heerhugowaard Penitentiary

Thanks to a great collaboration between the Penitentiary Institution (PI) in Heerhugowaard and Kennemerwaard Library, detainees have been receiving help with their questions about the Digital Government since the summer of the reporting year. A specially trained library employee visits the Penitentiary Institution each week to help detainees. We work with the DigiStronger program for detainees specially developed for this purpose. The first evaluation in the autumn was very positive for the library and the Penitentiary Institution, as well as for the participants.

Young people make modular games through the Arts Learning Square

The Arts Learning Square is a project by Kennemerwaard Library and Artiance for young people who do not participate in working society, temporarily or otherwise. In 2023, they developed the Multiverse game. The young people attended a training program at the Artiance Art School and, by developing this game together, they work on their 21st century skills as well as their language skills. For example, they design the game figures using a 3D printer and communicate intensively about the design and the rules of the game. Creating such a game is a great success for both the library and Artiance. It's a success for the library, because this way young people not only gain digital skills, but also a lot of language skills. The latter because they describe the characters in the game and the rules of the game, during which mutual communication between the young people is very important. For Artiance, this is a very meaningful daytime activity that fits in perfectly with the programs offered.

Questions about…? consultation hours

'Questions about...? consultation hours' is specially for residents who have problems with basic skills, which makes it difficult for them to participate in society. During these consultation hours you can ask all questions regarding language, arithmetic, digital skills and the Digital Government Information Center.

We aim to promote self-reliance through our way of helping. We offer people who need it the opportunity to take a course directly via Oefenen.nl, under our guidance. The consultation hours are held in our libraries, as well as in various community centers. Where possible, we organize the consultation hours together with our collaboration partners. Such as Formulierenpunt of MET Welzijn in the municipality of Dijk en Waard, an employee of MEE & de Wering in Alkmaar and the Social Team in Bergen. Most of the library's front office staff have now completed training to be able to answer questions about these topics. This means that residents who come with questions outside these consultation hours can be assisted properly as well and, if necessary, be referred. In 2023, in order to assist young people in this area as well, we started consultation hours in the field of Digital Government, specifically aimed at this target group. After a certain start-up period, during which the consultation hours gained in familiarity among the public, this part too started to run well.

DigiFitter and DigiStronger

There are more and more digital options available to monitor your own health and to arrange the necessary care. General practitioners and hospitals encourage patients to use patient portals, and healthcare providers use video consultations as a digital alternative to physical appointments. Yet there is still a large group of people who have difficulty keeping up with these developments. They lack the necessary digital skills required for this, while these are sometimes precisely the people who need care relatively more often. For example, the elderly and people whose health is generally poor. The library's DigiFitter course teaches people to deal with this in a safe way. A flyer has been developed together with GP organizations HONK, HKN and the North West Hospital to draw people's attention to this course. In 2023, we also attended an information market in the hall of North West Hospital to tell people more about the library's courses.

In addition to DigiFitter, the DigiStronger courses are now a permanent fixture in the program. In this course, people work in small groups to learn to use DigiD safely and practice logging into government and municipal websites. By taking this course, they will gain more confidence, which will ultimately make them undertake more in the digital field.