January 2006 Newsletter

In this Issue

 

Dear Members,

We're excited to share with you the CTCNetwork News, a quarterly update on CTCNet's work and member activities. This month we bring you news from Minneapolis, California, Texas and Tunisia! And we kick off this issue with an update from one of our newest members, a CTC working to provide support to families affected by the Gulf Coast disaster.

A heartfelt thank you to all of the members featured, for taking the time to reflect and share your work. From all of us here at CTCNet, happy 2006!

--Kavita Singh, Executive Director

_____________________________________________________________________

Member Spotlight

In our first member profile of the year, we highlight the Joy Corporation of Zachary, Lousiana. Joining CTCNet in September 2005, Joy Corporation empowers residents throughout Louisiana by providing educational training and programs. Joy Corporation has also been instrumental in assisting hundreds of survivors of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

CTCNet Network News spoke with Tierra Montgomery, Director of Training & IT Development, to learn more.

What programs/services does Joy Corporation offer?

Joy Corporation offers a number of programs to at-risk youth and families including:

What is your target population?

Our geographic service area includes both urban and rural portions of the Baton Rouge metro area including East Baton Rouge Parish, East Feliciana Parish, and Pointe Coupee Parish. Within this area, Joy Corporation usually serves both in-school and out-of-school youth ages 6-21. In addition, our computer lab provides 18 workstations equipped with DSL access to the general public.

What impact does the Joy Corporation have on the individuals it serves?

Joy Corporation brings quality programming for at-risk families to isolated, rural areas in the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Area. We see that our programs, particularly in the areas of technology training, substance abuse prevention, and education are beginning to lay the foundation for economic development in the communities Joy Corporation serves. We hope to see the development and implementation of more innovative economic development programs that allow participants to upgrade their standard of living and become more productive citizens.

How have the recent hurricanes affected your work?

I guess a better question would be how have Hurricanes Katrina and Rita not affected our work! Our first and largest disaster relief initiative was a partnership with the Zachary Chamber of Commerce, which allowed the Joy Corporation to donate our computer lab and volunteer staff to aid hurricane victims.

During a six-week period following the disasters, approximately 200 Hurricane Katrina and Rita survivors received assistance in submitting FEMA applications, filing unemployment and property insurance claims, looking for jobs and housing, and searching for relatives online. Many of our participants were resettled within weeks, including one family whose successful relocation to Florida was highlighted on Good Morning America. We have also increased our capacity across all Joy Corporation programs to include all Katrina & Rita survivors in our service area.

If you would like for your organization to be featured in a future edition of CTCNetwork News, please email newsletter@ctcnet.org.

[back to top]

_____________________________________________________________________

Members Participate at WSIS

The second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) was held in Tunis from November 16-18, 2005. Hosted by the Government of Tunisia and organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), this year's convening welcomed attendees from all over the world. In this second phase, efforts focused on the implementation of outcomes resulting from the first phase held in Geneva, Switzerland in 2003.

Three CTCNet members travelled to Tunisia to attend the conference and brought back the following reflections to share with fellow members.

Here are their reports:

Saskia Fischer, Media Empowerment Project, United Church of Christ; Washington, DC

The WSIS meeting in Tunis was the first time that my organization, the Office of Communication of United Church of Christ (OC, Inc.), or I have been involved in global ICT or media policy. We feel that celebrations of the 'information society' need to be given substance because so many around the world, and in our own country, don't have access to these increasingly essential technologies. ICT policy impacts much more than communication--the growing digital divide increases inequality and social and environmental injustice within and between countries. So OC, Inc decided to get involved in this process because of our concern for social justice and civil rights in media at home and abroad, given the impact of US policies on other countries.

For me, the most valuable aspect of attending WSIS was the opportunity to meet and build relationships with individuals and organizations from around the world--these included the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), the global Communication Rights in the Information Society Campaign (CRIS), and the German Heinrich Boll Foundation. From them and others, I learned about including diverse government and community models for ICTs and the impacts of global policies--especially trade and development policies--on the ability of countries in the South to build their own infrastructures.

Njideka Harry, Youth for Technology Foundation (YTF); Greenville, SC & Nigeria

WSIS was a great opportunity to learn more about what other organizations are doing, share best practices and develop partnerships with other like- minded organizations. We can accomplish so much more when we work together. There is a lot of work to be done and when civil society organizations, like YTF, come together to share ways to reach more of the community in a sustainable and replicable fashion, it creates a multiplier effect. We have so much to learn from one another. Through deliberations at WSIS, YTF established partnerships with two organizations working in the areas of ICTs for the creation of youth-led jobs, and another organization that has successfully developed entrepreneurship programs for rural women.

The best part of WSIS was not the demonstrations of tomorrow's technology today, the booths run by aid agencies and NGOs, or the panel discussions on an array of topics. It was the personal interactions with people from all over the world. It was people communicating across borders, not just the technology crossing borders. It was experiencing the ubiquitous information society from access to outcomes.

Xavier Leonard, Heads on Fire; San Diego, CA

In advance of WSIS, I had the expectation that my participation would be focused in three areas: voicing the ICT rights concerns of the communities that Heads On Fire serves, contributing to the decision making of the Internet Governance Caucus and being witness to the official proceedings. Even before the presentation of the Summit's opening remarks, my initial expectations were challenged. This challenge grew more rigorous as the Summit progressed and fostered the discovery of unexpected rewards. The Side Events I attended were even more valuable. I was surprised by the strength of their "stand-alone" nature. Their abundance, in both number and quality, allowed for the possibility of having a full WSIS experience without ever attending any of the formal UN proceedings. This held true especially if you took advantage of the many learning opportunities afforded by the ICT 4 All Exposition. Kofi Annan remarked on the rareness of having such a global convening to address an asset rather than a deficit. In the Side Events, the Expo, the Civil Society Caucuses as well as the shuttle-bus rides, it was clear that encounters among attendees were as much about harvesting hope as exchanging information.

On the bus to the badging center and while waiting to receive badges, I had two brief, but extremely rich conversations. One was about forward-thinking use of participant experience in program evaluation and the other was about the role State legislatures can play in enhancing eGovernment vitality. Both conversations yielded important information for me to bring back home. Those were just the first of many such fruitful conversations.

[back to top]

_____________________________________________________________________

Celebrating 15 Years!

This year's CTCNet conference marks a milestone as CTCNet celebrates its 15th anniversary convening. The Annual Conference will be held July 27- 29, in Washington, DC. And in response to membership feedback, we'll debut a new conference format featuring more targeted professional development, increased networking opportunities and of course, lots of celebration.

The Annual Community Technology Conference is the largest national gathering of community technology organizations, programs, and practioners. Mark your calendars today and join us this summer to celebrate 15 years of the CTC Network.

[back to top]

_____________________________________________________________________

Key Findings from Member Survey

In 2005, CTCNet conducted its 2nd annual Member Survey. The survey was conducted to gather demographic information about our CTC members and to get feedback on the resources CTCNet provides to its membership.

Listed below are some of the key findings from that 2005 survey. We wish to thank all the members that participated.

*For purposes of this survey, CTCNet made a distinction between independent CTCs and CTCs 'embedded' in larger organizations, such as a family services agency.

[back to top]

_________________________________________________________________________________

Regional Highlights

Texas

On November 4, 2005, Technology for All (TFA), located in Houston, Texas, held its 4th Annual Tech for All conference. The Tech for All conference recognized the achievements of technology programs across Texas and served as an instrumental gathering in helping to keep Texas CTCs connected. TFA recognized the NAACP Family Technology Center as the Houston 2005 CTC of the Year. Honorable Mention awards were also presented to the M. D. Anderson YMCA, East End Life Center and the East Side University Village Community Learning Center.

"It was moving and exciting to connect with Katrina evacuees and volunteers who worked together in the Astrodome to help find lost relatives and bring them together. I was inspired by their courage, hope, and dedication. TFA's emphasis on using technology to empower communities came through loud and clear", said Laura Breeden, TFA conference attendee and CTCNet Advisory Board Member. In September, TFA efforts helped provided computer access to over 16,000 Hurricane Katrina survivors at Houston's Astrodome, Reliant Center and Reliant Arena.

California

The Community Technology Organizing Consortium (CTOC) of Los Angeles recently published a report entitled "The Capacity and Needs of Southern California's CTCs." This report finds that despite the critical services and benefits CTCs in LA and the surrounding counties provide to low-income youth and families, these CTCs feel that they are underfunded and unable to afford adequate space and equipment. Read the report here.

In August of 2005, Davis Park, of the Little Tokyo Service Center, and Micheline Wilcoxen of CTOC, served as Los Angeles CTC representives on the ZeroDivide Fellowship Policy Group. Davis and Micheline contributed to a strategy document entitled "Toward a Technologically Healthy California: A Road Map for Policy Makers". The report suggests ways to increase advances in technology for all California communities. To read more, click here.

If you would like for your region to be featured in a future edition of CTCNetwork News, please email newsletter@ctcnet.org.

[back to top]

_____________________________________________________________________

Leadership Institute in Twin Cities

The following was written by CTC *VISTA AmeriCorps Leader, Roxanne Johnson.

This past fall, CTCNet sent Executive Director Kavita Singh and Director of Programs Amy Lesser to Minneapolis, MN. Their purpose: to help members of an AmeriCorps program called the Community Technology Empowerment Project (CTEP) in their work to bridge the digital divide in the Twin Cities. The goals of the two-day interactive Leadership Development Institute (LDI) were to:

Institute activities started with attendees assessing programs at their organizations. Amy and Kavita then took everyone through the process of doing outreach, designing programs, getting the support you need from your organization, and evaluation. In the outreach section, small groups were presented with a hypothetical situation.

OzTech, the technology component of a community organization called Planet Oz, is dedicated to improving economic opportunities of young people in Oz. Each group looked at Planet Oz youth programs and the needs of youth in Oz, and were asked to create an outreach plan and poster for a new OzTech program. As the information became more specific, everyone had the chance to use their own organizations so that all attendees walked away with ideas and plans for new programming at their sites.

The CTCNet LDI helped our program year off to a good start, and all participants came away energized and inspired. Hats off and much thanks--to Amy and Kavita, from all of us here in snowy Minnesota!

Here's what some of the attendees had to say:

"Our specific projects were brought to the table to work on. Made activities much more relevant and me willing to put more work into it."

"Great training- Very informative. Gave us great tools to more forward with."

See photos from the LDI and learn more about C-CAN.

[back to top]

_____________________________________________________________________

Welcome 2006 Youth Visions Grantees

Congratulations go out to CTCNet's third year of Youth Visions grantees!

This year's 8 grantees were chosen by a team of 21 peer reviewers. The pool included 74 eligible applicants representing organizations from 34 states. In addition to $20,000 in grant funds, each awardee receives curriculum and evaluation support for a 6- month program, designed to give youth the opportunity to use multimedia tools and training to engage in community decision-making. At each site, the youth-driven program results in a multimedia presentation addressing a specific community need with local assets. Additionally, each grantee organization will host a local capacity-building workshop in June 2006 to help other youth-serving organizations learn to use multimedia tools to promote youth engagement in their communities. The grantees will also screen their youth-produced multimedia presentations at the July 2006 CTCNet Conference.

*This is the final year of the Learn and Serve AmeriCorps funded project. CTCNet will be seeking funding for the program's continuation in 2007.

Read success stories from 2005 YVSN grantees here.

See the 2006 YVSN Press Release.

[back to top]

_____________________________________________________________________

Meet the Board

CTCNet is governed by a Board of Directors elected by its membership. A majority of the Directors' seats must represent CTCs.

We're pleased to introduce to you one of our newest board members, Gary Lambert.

About Gary's organization, ACCEL: The Appalachian Center for Collaborative and Engaged Learning (ACCEL), a non-profit community based organization, located in the heart of Ohio's Appalachian Region. Working in collaboration with business, labor, government, education, the community uses sophisticated team-based strategies to identify and solve problems that face Ohioans. Since 1997, the ACCEL has developed a unique expertise for fostering educator and employer partnerships and been recognized by state, regional and national organizations for achieving excellent results such as:

Today ACCEL operates a CTC within its offices and services as a Technology Service provider for four counties. Maintaining hardware, software and courseware in 20 tech centers located in public and charter schools, juvenile detention centers, community and resource centers and housing authorities.

Gary's background: Gary has thirty years experience in engineering, executive and plant management for JPM, NCR and Diebold. His particular area of expertise is the implementation of quality driven demand flow processes with-in a self directed workforce structure culminating in a customer focused, process driven environments.

Service on the CTCNet Board: Gary has been a Board Member since June 2005. He serves on CTCNet's Development committee and has played a key role in CTCNet strategic planning, serving on the subcommittee for this ongoing work.

Note to CTCNet Members: I have been active in CTC building for 6 years and have enjoyed working with some the most dedicated, results oriented and visionary people I have ever had the pleasure of being acquainted with. With technology finally taking its place as a driving force in leveling the playing field there is so much more for us to accomplish. I can't think of a better cross section of people(s) to make this a reality. Thank you all for your hard work and inspiration.

[back to top]

_____________________________________________________________________

To view CTCNet's 151 New Members in 2005, click here.