Meetings with US
community networker
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Here's news of the next Sussex Online events. Terry Grunwald, the US author of the acclaimed book 'Making the Net Work', will be in Sussex July 24 - 26 as part of a UK tour with Partnerships Online. We have arranged two opportunities to meet Terry during the time she is here: 1 A seminar at Adur Resource Centre, Shoreham-by-Sea, from 10 am Friday July 24. We'll have reports on what's happening in the US and elsewhere in the UK, updates on Sussex projects, and also some practical discussion on what it will take to create a community network for an area like Adur. For 15GPB you will get a copy of Terry's book and lunch. 2 A presentation and informal discussion on Sunday morning July 26 at the cybercafe Surfers@Paradise in Bond Street, Brighton. From 11am, no charge, pay for your coffee, stay for lunch. Places are limited, so please mail me if you want to meet Terry, and I send more details. If you can't make those times, get in touch anyway because we may be fixing up other opportunities. Terry is in the country until August 8. David Wilcox <david@partnerships.org.uk> Here's an introduction Terry mailed recently: Hello to the Partnerships Online - and Sussex Online - Community in the UK, I want to introduce myself in advance of my visit to the UK and let you know a bit about my general background and experience with "community networking". I am currently Project Director of NCexChange, a project of the North Carolina Justice and Community Development Center, a multi-forum research and advocacy organization serving low-income, working poor, and minority populations and communities in the state of North Carolina. NCexChange's mission is to promote and support electronic networking for nonprofit groups (I believe you call them voluntary organizations in the UK) and low wealth communities in the state. We've been at this work since 1990 and were in fact the first statewide program in the U.S. established to meet the special networking needs of the nonprofit community. Over the last eight years, we've evolved quite a bit and launched a variety of initiatives designed to demonstrate the value of electronic networking (now primarily the Internet) to community groups. We've had our share of successes and failures. Mostly, we've learned a lot -- much of it the hard way -- about the opportunities and barriers of these new emerging technologies for underserved areas. As David can attest, I am not very technical myself -- a bit of a technical klutz, in fact, and so am not in a position to provide much in the way of technical advice. Yet somehow, I believe that my own shortcomings in this area have allowed me to become more sensitive to the struggles of "real people" trying to make sense of the Internet. Over the past eight years, I have worked with literarily hundreds of nonprofits to "market" electronic networking and the Internet, participated in numerous trainings and one-on-one consultations on the topic, presented at conferences and workshops around the U.S. and in the Netherlands (see below), managed an online humans services "forum", planned websites, developed a pilot project for technology champions in disadvantaged communities, and spent a lot of time thinking about how the technology can make a difference for the people and communities most in need of help. I am, of course, concerned with the "gap" in connectivity -- the "digital divide" but I am actually more interested in effective use of the technology -- the issues of information literacy and capacity. My experience is not of the academic variety -- more like warzone reports from the trenches. I like to share lessons learned and best practices. I often feel that I walk a tightrope between my roles as "evangelist" for the Internet and "realist and occasional cynic" about what can be accomplished -- especially in the short term. Some of you may remember my piece on "7 Public Interest Telecom Heresies" that sparked some discussion on the democracy.org list a year or so ago. I am very "big" on collaborations and am currently involved in a number of cross-institutional telecom effforts with government at all levels, schools. libraries, universities, grassroots groups, and other entities. We also have started to experiment with facilitating real-time "chat" sessions -- especially among rural practitioners. I have a special interest in policy issues -- both in the role of telecommunications in "leveling the playing field" in the creation of public policy around community development and human services and in the development of strategic public interest telecommunications policies. I have just testified before our state Utilities Commission on the need for an expanded vision of Universal Service and am trying to build a coalition of advocates in other states to tackle this issue as well. As David has mentioned, we recently published the "Making the Net Work" Guide which some of you may be familiar with. In addition, I wear a number of different hats. Some of you may have heard about the North Carolina Information Highway which provides state government entities with a broadband network for high-speed data, voice, and video has been regarded as somewhat of an international model. I serve as the nonprofit representative to the North Carolina Information Highway Policy Committee, co-facilitate the North Carolina Nonprofit User Group, and serve on the Advisory Committee to the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundations Electronic Networking Association. Some of the workshops where I was a presenter outside of North Carolina include:
In addition, I have over 20 years experience in nonprofit management and have served as Executive Director of four nonprofit organizations in Missouri and New York working on issues such as housing, community development and crime victim assistance. I also spent a number of years working for the housing agency in New York City as a planner and community organizer. My graduate degree was in City and Regional Planning. I am quite excited about this trip for a number of reasons. Here in the States, I find so many people who are basically technophiles but haven't a clue about the realities of community development work and the pressures faced by nonprofit organizations. On the other hand, few community activists grasp the potential of the technology. I also suspect that in the UK, you are going about community networking from a more community-driven and collaborative approach and your voluntary sector seems to be actively involved from the outset. It's an approach more in line with my own priorities and I am eager to learn more. As David noted, I will be in the UK from July 23 - August 8 and will be available to meet, consult, or participate in a seminar with any of you who might be interested in our battles -- er experiences with community networking. I have collected lots of dos and don'ts which I would be delighted to share -- or even better debate and reshape based on realities in the UK. Instead of the Netscape vs. Explorer jousts which are more typical in the U.S., I would welcome an opportunity to engage the "hows" of public interest telecom. To see some of the activities we at NCexChange have been engaged with lately, I encourage you to check out www.ncexchange.org -- although much of our more recent experience is not yet reflected. I am delighted for this opportunity to visit the UK and hope to meet many of you face-to-face. Terry
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