The Alliance for Digital Equality brought some of the leading voices for diversity in technology together yesterday for the 2009 Minority Broadband Summit at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. The starting keynote from Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson set the theme of opportunity for the rest of the day as Rep. Johnson announced, “there is no limit to what broadband and technology can bring us.”
The theme of opportunity played out in conversations ranging from individual education, to reviving the U.S. economy, to leveling the playing field globally. But as we’ve heard before, minorities face disparate challenges in embracing broadband-based opportunities. So what can we do to inspire broadband adoption among minorities? Numerous speakers shared their perspectives. Here are two favorites:
Mario Armstrong is a TV/radio/Internet personality whose claim to fame is bringing tech to non-techies. Armstrong reaches adults on business and society technology issues through his innovative programming, but he also makes sure to reach teens and kids though programs like Tech Tech Boom and the Urban Video Game Academy, which make it cool for kids to be geeks!
Dr. Victoria DeFrancesco Soto is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Northwestern University. Her research focuses on race and ethnic politics, a topic that is increasingly related to technology. Dr. DeFrancesco Soto tells a great story about her conversation with a woman who runs a restaurant in Chicago who doesn’t use a computer. The small business owner can afford it, DeFrancesco Soto told summit attendees, but will not embrace it until she sees its relevance and value.
NextGenWeb got to chat further with both of these forward thinkers. Watch the interviews below to learn more about how they believe we can inspire broadband technology adoption among minority communities!
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