Breakout Session: Re-Envisioning Digital Equity

Breakout Session: Re-Envisioning Digital Equity

Digital equity is more than laptops. With the onset of COVID-19, it became apparent that the internet was a vital lifeline to education, health and safety information, and economic recovery. Yet it's estimated that 42 million individuals in the U.S. do not have broadband access. Sadly, we know that individuals who are left behind now may never catch up. The issue is complex, but it doesn’t have to be. We’ll hear perspectives from speakers who are: reimagining people-centered internet infrastructures globally; working towards equitable education so that a children's race and zip codes are not the predicating factors in defining their success; partnering with Native nations to design, build and control their Internet future; and creating pathways to prosperity for former coal communities. If, as Congressman John Lewis said, “Access to the internet... is the civil rights issue of the 21st century,” what is philanthropy’s role in it?

Date & Time: 
Wednesday, October 7, 2020 -
12:45pm to 2:00pm PDT