Digital Inclusion Week 2023 has been a blur!
From our local kickoff on Monday, helping enroll residents in the Affordable Connectivity Plan at the City Housing Resource Fair, to taking part in Tuesday’s national Building for Digital Equity conversation with NDIA and ILSR to a Wednesday listening session on the State of Tennessee’s Digital Opportunity Plan (open for public comment through October 9th), the week has flown by. And today, of course, we’re at the downtown Public Library from noon until 4 p.m., assisting neighbors enroll in ACP and HCS EdConnect, powered by EPB.
On the national stage, we also participated in panel discussions with AARP about creating livable communities through access, The Community Broadband Action Network’s Fall Forum on broadband, and the Mississippi Broadband Association’s fall conference and workshop.
It’s been an exciting week on the NDIA ListServ, too; more than 300 events and celebrations have taken place across the country, and Digital Inclusion Week is a great reminder of the national community working to close the digital divide every day.
There were great reminders here in Chattanooga and Hamilton County, too: At just one meeting this week, we heard about new Tech Goes Home classes, HCS EdConnect building on its 17,000 students already connected (and reaching out to families this new school year!), the Signal Centers Assistive Technology’s breadth of accessibility services, Chattanooga Goodwill’s digitally-focused job training, Thrive’s bilingual ACP enrollment drives and ongoing equity and technology research at UTC.
In some ways, every week here is Digital Inclusion Week, and so much so that it can be easy to forget just how much is being done. But this week is not just about how many events NDIA affiliates can host, though: It’s about celebrating each other’s accomplishments, and taking a moment to reflect on how far we’ve come — together.
Every year, this week serves as a crucial monument to just that, with an open door for anyone who wants to get involved. So come celebrate with us, join this incredible community .. and send your friends and neighbors to the Chattanooga Public Library today from noon to 4!
