With Net Inclusion 2019 less than two weeks away, a dozen Charlotte organizations are getting ready to showcase their work with digital inclusion and share their impact on the community.
One organization, Project LIFT, is among 12 non-profits that plan to share their progress through site visits. Project LIFT hopes the conference will spark interest among schools nationwide to focus on digital inclusion, said Lindsey Sipe, technology facilitator. Project LIFT is sharing updates on social media and engaging with community members, board members, and school board officials about the conference, she said. Additionally, most Charlotte organizations participating in the conference are members of the Charlotte Digital Inclusion Alliance. Its objective is to help reduce the digital divide in Mecklenburg County from 19 percent to 9 percent during the next 10 years.
“We are most excited for the opportunity to spend time with other organizations to learn what school districts, municipalities and communities are doing to help the progress of digital inclusion in their communities,” Sipe said. Project LIFT is hosting a site tour at West Charlotte High School.
At the Net Inclusion conference, presentations and discussions will cover local, state and federal policies that affect digital inclusion, program support, and effectiveness. This is in the hope that the community of digital inclusion can work together to develop an action plan to invoke major change around the issue.
At the start of the three-day event, beginning April 1, participants of the conference will attend pre-conference meetings. They will also make visits to Brightwalk Neighborhood (through the Charlotte Mecklenburg Housing Partnership); Dillehay Courts (Charlotte Housing Authority); Digital Charlotte (James L. Knight School of Communication at Queens); Southside Homes (Charlotte Housing Authority); West Charlotte High School (Project LIFT and Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools); E2D ReImagine Lab; Renaissance West STEAM Academy; Goodwill Opportunity Campus; Digi-bridge at Ashley Park; Imaginon/Main; and Google Fiber. Then, sessions are scheduled for April 2-3 at the Harris Conference Center at Central Piedmont Community College, near the Charlotte airport. The full schedule is available on the Digital Inclusion website, where registration is also available.
Project LIFT photo above by Kelso Communications.