Eighty-five representatives of CTCs, non-profits, and the business and education fields gathered on Chicago's South Side to discuss development, improvement and expansion of community technology.
Chicago—April 26, 2001—"Building community awareness is as important as building infrastructure." This was the message of B. Keith Fulton, keynote speaker at MPC and IT Resource Center's Connecting Chicago's Communities regional workshop at the Charles Hayes Family Investment Center. It was a message of particular relevance to the 85 leaders of community technology centers (CTCs), not-for-profit organizations, businesses and education gathered there.
Fulton, executive director of Corporate Relations for the AOL Foundation, went on to explain that "only half of the digital divide is explained by income and education," and discussed AOL's strategy for attacking that problem. The October 2000 U.S. Department of Commerce report on digital inclusion, he said, found that underserved communities included not only low-income African American and Latino populations, but also senior citizens and the disabled.
Fulton emphasized that the digital divide problem is no longer only one of infrastructure. "The challenge now is to provide content that fulfills communities' needs in a compelling, friendly and trustworthy way." Programs such as Benefits Check-up, a Web site where senior citizens can complete a short interview to make sure they are accessing all of their Federal benefits, begin to address that lack of comfort with an unfamiliar way of getting information.
The 4859 S. Wabash Ave. setting for the workshop — historically the home of the United Packinghouse Workers of America and stage for activists like Saul Alinsky and now a full-service community center complete with 50-station computer laboratory operated by the Chicago Housing Authority — provided an appropriate backdrop for discussions of how community technology efforts can be developed, improved and expanded. The audience represented community organizations as varied as the Prison Action Committee and the Center for Neighborhood Technology.
The workshop was kicked off with a panel discussion of how to build the capacity of CTCs. Panelists included Edgar Lucas, executive director of Renacer Westside Community Network, which uses its technology center to "arm community residents with the tools to compete in the job market;" and Ricardo Estrada, associate executive director of Erie Neighborhood House, which is helping the community it serves to use more of the functionality of the computers it already has. "People in our community use computers, but to play games," Estrada said. "They're using 0.1 percent of the capacity that's there." Sokoni Karanja, president of Centers for New Horizons, also offered his perspective.
Another morning panel discussed the role of public-private partnerships in supporting community technology. Steve Mitchell, president and COO of Lester B. Knight and Associates, chair of the Mayor's Council of Technology Advisors and chair of the Illinois Coalition discussed the results of the Mayor's Council community technology survey and the CivicNet program that seeks to link schools, libraries and community centers across the city with a high performance broadband infrastructure. "There is no location in the city that will be more than four blocks from broadband access," Mitchell explained. Marc Blakeman, senior director of External Affairs for Ameritech, talked about what his organization looks for in making foundation grants. Blakeman emphasized the importance of collaboration and partnerships between CTCs. "We have a specific requirement of replication and sharing of information," he said. Martin Mercado, research coordinator for Policy Research Action Group and a member of the Illinois Community Technology Fund emphasized those community connections that are made without computers. "None of us is as smart as all of us," Mercado said, encouraging the audience to take advantage of one another's skills and resources.
The audience expressed concern that the City's CivicNet program would not effectively serve disadvantaged communities. Panel moderator Scott Goldstein, VP of policy and planning for MPC and co-chair of the Infrastructure Committee of the Mayor's Council of Technology Advisors, agreed that CivicNet was not an end in itself. "Infrastructure alone is not enough without education, staff development, community awareness ... but once all of those things are in place, we don't want anyone held back because of lack of infrastructure."
Fulton applauded the community groups' emphasis on collaboration and sharing of best practices. "We've come too far for anybody to start at Ground Zero," he said.
The assembled group then broke into smaller groups to network and discuss topics such as setting up CTCs, fundraising for community technology efforts and enhancing CTCs through content that empowers communities.
A closing luncheon panel discussed the future of community technology in the Chicago region. Zenobia Johnson-Black, president and CEO of the Charles Hayes Family Investment Center, host of the day's event, and president of the Community Technology Center Network-Chicago; Tony Streit, executive director of Street-Level Youth Media; and Mercedes Soto, project director at Chicago Commons emphasized the continued importance of community technology efforts despite the recent downturn in the technology sector. The labor market still demands some technology literacy for most workers.
Johnson-Black commented that basic technology skills are an absolute necessity in applying for jobs with employers such as Home Depot and Marshall Field's, where the job application process is all computerized. Streit encouraged local organizations providing community technology to become involved with CTCNet Chicago, a group of CTC providers and supporters that advocates on behalf of community technology issues, and to use online resources such as the Digital Divide Network. Soto highlighted the continued challenge of providing more than access to technology, emphasizing the need for meaningful and relevant applications for disadvantaged communities.
For more information contact Bindu Batchu, MPC technology associate, at 312/922-5619, ext. 47.