SCN: Digital Divide event

[Doug Schuler]

FYI...  Here is an upcoming event.  They do *charge* for the
conference but if you want to come to these events you don't
have to register.

-- Doug

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EXPERTS TO SPEAK ON DIGITAL DIVIDE IN SEATTLE

Larry Irving, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications 
and Information, will address the annual meeting of the National 
Communication Association (NCA) in Seattle on "The Digital Divide and 
Telecommunication Policy" on Saturday, November 11, from 9:30-10:45 a.m. in 
Room 612, 6th Floor, Washington State Convention and Trade Center (WSCTC). 
This talk is central to the "engaged" theme of this year's convention and 
part of NCA's continuing effort to spur debate and find solutions to the 
problem of inequities in communication access in our digital culture.

Irving was appointed by President Clinton in 1993.  His duties included 
serving as Administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information 
Administration (NTIA), making him the first African American to head the 
Commerce Department agency.  During his six-year tenure at the Commerce 
Department, Irving earned an international reputation as a leader in 
telecommunications and information policy.  He played a major role in the 
Clinton Administration's efforts to bring about the most sweeping reform of 
America's telecommunications law in 60 years through the Telecommunications 
Act of 1996.  He was also a principal voice for policies promoting diversity 
in the commercial broadcast arena.

In addition to his pivotal role in shaping U.S. government policy on the 
information superhighway, e-commerce, and telecommunications, Irving is 
perhaps best known for his tireless efforts to increase opportunities for 
minorities and women in the emerging digital economy.  In 1995, Irving 
initiated a landmark NTIA survey, "Falling Through the Net," which showed a 
dramatic gap between those who had access to telecommunications technology 
(telephones, computers, and the Internet) and those who did not.  The report 
recommended policies aimed at increasing Internet access to close the digital 
divide.  Irving supervised two follow-up studies to "Falling Through the Net" 
which indicated that while Clinton-Gore administration policies were helping 
to narrow the digital divide, both continued and innovative policies were 
needed to eliminate the gap.

After Mr. Irving's morning presentation in Seattle, the discussion of digital 
divide issues continues in two companion programs with national and local 
leaders.  The panels will be on Saturday, November 11, from 2:00-3:15 p.m. 
and from 3:30-4:45 p.m. both in Room 214, 2nd Floor, WSCTC.  During these 
programs, with the insights of leading advocates, the audience and panelists 
will brainstorm about how individuals and national organizations can be 
proactive on this crucial issue and network and collaborate with government 
agencies, libraries, other organizations, corporations, and foundations at 
the forefront of the challenge to eliminate inequity in participation in the 
cybersociety of the new Millennium.  In addition to Larry Irving, these two 
panels feature Nancy C. Kranich, President of the American Library 
Association, a key organization heavily involved in promoting information 
literacy and Internet access for all; Doug Schuler, an internationally 
recognized author and expert on democratic and community-empowering 
communication, former chair of Computer Professionals for Social 
Responsibility, and co-founder of the Seattle Community Network; Trish 
Millines Dziko, co-founder and Executive Director of Seattle's Technology 
Access Foundation, a national model program for community-based solutions to 
bridge the digital divide; and Susan B. Kretchmer, Johns Hopkins University 
and Rod Carveth, Southern Connecticut State University, NCA scholars who are 
working with the Government of Canada on its Knowledge-Based Economy and 
Society initiative as well as various national and global consortiums of 
researchers, professionals, and organizations concentrating on the pressing 
concerns raised by the new information society.





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