Mission Statement
To make Mecklenburg County the most digital equitable community in America.
Vision
The Center for Digital Equity is the backbone organization for a collective impact strategy bringing together residents, public, and private sector partners to co-create solutions allowing every resident the opportunity to thrive in our modern culture.
History
The Center for Digital Equity (CDE) is an evolution of two key community initiatives; Digital Charlotte and the Charlotte Digital Inclusion Alliance and is housed at Queens University of Charlotte.
The CDE is supported by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
Organization
The CDE consists of 5 workstreams guided by an advisory board and a community council.
The community council is a resident, public, private collaboration focused on producing recommendations on how Mecklenburg County becomes the most digitally equitable community in America. Any resident in Mecklenburg County or public and private sector partner who operates within the county is welcome to join the council. The community council is governed by a co-created charter and led by workstream co-chairs who are elected by partners of the CDE.
The advisory board is made up of executive-level leadership from the public and private sectors focused on helping both ensure alignment of initiatives across key sectors as well as providing strategic guidance.
The 5 workstreams of the CDE are:
- Policy, Advocacy, and Ecosystem Development
- Data, Program Measurement, and Research
- Device and Connectivity
- Digital Navigation and Technical Support
- Digital Literacy and Skilling