Independent Forum on High Speed Internet (UC2B) and the Future of the Community

The ribbon has been cut for UC2B, but much work remains to be done before the digital divide ends in Champaign-Urbana. How will this new digital capacity benefit the community? Money? Programs? Education? Representation? Health? Everyone is needed to join in the process of transforming Champaign-Urbana into a digital community.

Hear from UC2B decision-makers, learn new skills and share your perspectives December 1, 2012, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Douglass Annex, 804 North Fifth Street, in Champaign, Illinois, at the forum “High Speed Internet (UC2B): How will the community benefit?” This event is an open, independent event. Citizens and groups in the local area can come to hear about and discuss the current state and future directions of community use of high-speed internet.

The event’s schedule will be:

• 9–10:15 a.m.: Current Status of UC2B – Talk with decision makers
• 10:15–11:30 a.m.: CUWiki.net & Digital Tools
• 11:30 a.m.–12:45 p.m.: Community Benefit Fund – the future of UC2B.

During this event, all are invited to speak out about issues in the community around UC2B and high-speed internet. This event also will feature opportunities to learn new computer skills. Volunteers will be available to work with members around technology programs discussed at the forum, beginning at 10 a.m. The forum's flyer can be downloaded here. You also can visit the event's Facebook page.

This event will be archived online and broadcast live as an important event in the development of high-speed internet in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. This forum builds on community conversations on the digital divide in Champaign-Urbana organized by the Community Informatics Research Lab (CIRL), University of Illinois Graduate School of Library & Information Science. These past forums are available online here and here.  The December 1 forum will be added to this growing record of how the local community is positively transforming in the digital age. The CIRL also has released a free publication on how UC2B community anchor institutions are appropriating new technologies. This report is available at here.

For more information, please visit http://eBlackCU.net or email nlenstr2@illinois.edu.