Champions of digital equity, the National Digital Inclusion Alliance proclaims May 7-11, 2018 Digital Inclusion Week. Locally, Burlington Telecom is celebrating! The week is an opportunity to raise awareness about digital inequities and nationwide efforts to close those gaps from California to the Carolinas. Digital Inclusion Week seeks to bring people who dedicate their lives to Digital Inclusion together to highlight the impact of their work and to come together to find solutions to close digital divides.
Throughout the week, organizations across the nation will host digital inclusion events (i.e. free technology trainings, device donation drives, etc.) and share digital stories that highlight specific inequities and the role digital inclusion providers play in meeting these needs.
You can join the conversation on social media by using the hashtags #Digitalinclusion, #Digitalequityis_____ , and #DIW2018 on your Digital Inclusion Week social media posts.
About Digital Inclusion
“Digital Inclusion” refers to the activities necessary to ensure that all individuals and communities, including the most disadvantaged, have access to and use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). This includes 5 elements: 1) affordable, robust broadband internet service; 2) internet-enabled devices that meet the needs of the user; 3) access to digital literacy training; 4) quality technical support; and 5) applications and online content designed to enable and encourage self-sufficiency, participation and collaboration. Digital Inclusion must evolve as technology advances. Digital Inclusion requires intentional strategies and investments to reduce and eliminate historical, institutional and structural barriers to access and use technology.
About the Digital Divide
The use of ICTs has risen steadily over the last three decades, yet many American communities continue to face persistent barriers to adoption. As technologies evolve, we know that addressing digital inequities is more than a problem of access but one of greater social and economic inclusion. More than 60 million people across the United States aren’t connected to the Internet. More than a third of these people don’t see the Internet as relevant to their lives, while another third find the web difficult to use. .
About National Digital Inclusion Alliance
The NDIA is a unified voice for home broadband access, public broadband access, personal devices and local technology training and support programs. They work collaboratively to craft, identify and disseminate financial and operational resources for digital inclusion programs while serving as a bridge to policymakers and the general public. To learn more about the National Digital Inclusion Alliance and their national events, visit https://www.digitalinclusion.org/diw/
