The digital divide is shrinking in terms of access but widening in utility. There are positive initiatives under way to close that gap, and the progress is encouraging, but the momentum and the importance of completing the work can’t be lost, according to a guest blogger on Venture Beat.
One of the projects the writer highlights is the Red Hook Initiative‘s mesh network, which not only expands Internet access but also builds skills in the young adults that put it together. We have written about that project here.
The post also covers some of the technical philanthropy by Dumbo’s Etsy:
On the private side, the Red Hook Initiative (in Red Hook, Brooklyn) has installed free Wi-Fi routers at churches, schools, and other community spaces. With a complimentary program in local schools focused on leadership, employment skills, and STEM training, the initiative has empowered the community to develop services in the present, and students are also better prepared for their futures in the modern economy. With support from local and state governments, successful programs like this could be rolled out to more places where they are needed.
One model for public-private partnerships worth following is what Etsy is doing in the post-industrial community of Rockford, Illinois (at the request of the town’s mayor, Larry Morrissey) and in underemployed communities in New York City. Working with local groups, Etsy has a “craft entrepreneurship” program to teach basic business and computer literacy by boosting existing craft and manufacturing skills.
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