Hi, I’m Ben Teoh from Adelaide. I’m a husband, dad, photographer, community builder and most recently, lifelong learning advocate.

Across my career, I have worked in local government, libraries, education, youth work, not-for-profits, IT, marketing and retail.

Currently working with the City of Marion, I have a focus on providing leadership to a team to offer lifelong learning opportunities for community members in our libraries.

I have a particular interest in digital inclusion and digital literacy in South Australia. While it’s improving, South Australia is still ranked second-lowest on the Australian Digital Inclusion Index. It’s an issue which impacts all ages, but is more evident in groups who are also at risk or disadvantaged. It also goes hand-in-hand with the lack basic literacy skills across Australia. In 2011-2012 it was found that around 44% of Australians don’t have a functional literacy skills.

As a father, child development and literacy is also important to me. I know how difficult it is navigating parenthood, let alone the challenge of setting your children up for success in the future.

Working in libraries, I have a growing appreciation of the value of creating community space, lowering barriers to information and fostering a thirst for learning. Across Adelaide, libraries play an essential role in providing services and programs that tackle many of the wicked problems we face in our communities.

I’m interested in connecting with like-minded people across Adelaide. If you are community-minded with an interest in digital inclusion, lifelong learning, community spaces and development, feel free to get in contact.