Meet the IASL 2024 Keynote Speakers:
David A. Robertson, Amanda Jones, Dr. Margaret Merga, Dr. Bella Zhang, and Professor Tse, Shek Kam
Keynote Speaker: David A. Robertson
David A. Robertson is a two-time winner of the Governor General's Literary Award, has won the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award, as well as the Writer's Union of Canada Freedom to Read award. He has received several other accolades for his work as a writer for children and adults, podcaster, public speaker, and social advocate. He was honoured with a Doctor of Letters by the University of Manitoba for outstanding contributions in the arts and distinguished achievements in 2023. He is a member of Norway House Cree Nation and lives in Winnipeg.
Keynote Speaker: Amanda Jones
Amanda is a 24 year teacher-librarian and grassroots organizer in Louisiana on the frontlines fighting against censorship in libraries. She is the 2021 Librarian of the Year as presented by School Library Journal , a 2021 Library Journal Mover and Shaker, and the 2020 Louisiana School Librarian of the Year. She is the Louisiana Chapter Councilor to ALA and on both the ALA and LLA Intellectual Freedom Committees. Amanda has won numerous intellectual freedom awards, is a founding member of Louisiana Citizens Against Censorship, and is the author of “That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America.”
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Margaret Merga
Dr Margaret Merga is an Associate Professor at the University of Notre Dame Australia and Lead Consultant at Merga Consulting. She is an active researcher in the school library research space, and she has written over a hundred peer-reviewed and research-informed publications, including six books. These include the 2023 book Creating a reading culture in primary and secondary schools: A practical guide, and the 2022 book School libraries supporting literacy and wellbeing (both by Facet Publishing, UK). She is an international keynote speaker whose work has been translated into many different languages.
As an active advocate for libraries, she is the inaugural Patron of the Australian School Library Association and the Western Australian School Library Association. In 2022 she was invited to co-author the International Literacy Association’s position statement on The essential leadership of school librarians. She has played an active role in 20 research projects and was recently Chief Investigator on the 2024 International School Library Workforce Project which gathered crucial library workforce data from respondents across more than 60 countries.
Keynote Speaker: Professor Tse, Shek Kam
Professor Tse Shek Kam was Associate Dean and Director of The Centre for the Advancement of Chinese Language Education and Research in the Faculty of Education at the University of Hong Kong. He is now the Principal Investigator of C-for-Chinese Project in HK. For many years, he has provided a consultancy service to a number of organizations, including The Chinese Education Centre of the Netherlands Government, The Ministry of Education in Singapore, The Education Bureau of the Hong Kong Government, The Education and Youth Affairs Bureau of The Macao Government and five international universities. He was bestowed the Eminent Scholars Award in 2018 by SCCL and the Dick Wolf Memorial Award by IEA in 2007.
His research interests include the learning and teaching of Chinese as a first or second language, early childhood Chinese language education,
bilingual reading and ways of assessing and monitoring language learning. He has published more than 60 books, 220 book chapters and research articles.
His talk:
Enhancing Students' Reading Intrest and Abilities Comprehensively and Effectively ：The Hong Kong Experience
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Bella Jing Zhang
Bella Jing Zhang, PhD in History, Professor of Library and Information Science in Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU，https://www.sysu.edu.cn/sysuen/) of China. She is the Head of the Academic Committee of the iSchool (https://ischool.sysu.edu.cn/) and Head of Joint Research and Promotion Center of National Reading Campaign (JCoNR). Her research interests include first, cultural governance and public cultural services, second, preservation of ancient books and documentary heritage, and third children's reading, learning and empowerment. She has been selected into China's National Major Talent Program, and is the chief expert of major projects of China's National Social Science Fund. She has been involved in many of IFLA's work as a member of IFLA School Library Section (2017-21, 2021-2025), of IFLA FAIFE Advisory Committee (2021-23, 2023-2025), and of IFLA COS Advisory Committee (2017-19, 2019-2021). She has also undertaken important work in domestic and local library professional organizations, and is the deputy Director of the Academic Research Committee of the Chinese Library Society and the deputy President of the Guangdong Library Society.