Expanding Access to Technology

In conjunction with the fifth anniversary of the Digital Divide Network (DDN), EDC’s Center for Media & Community has launched a new interactive Web site for activists working to bridge the digital divide. The new Digital Divide Network Web site provides a unique, free online space for technology advocates, Internet activists, educators, and policymakers to collaborate with each other.

“The new Digital Divide Network taps into the creative expertise of thousands of technology activists from around the world,” said DDN director Andy Carvin. “The Web site empowers them to contribute and share their best ideas for expanding Internet access and 21st century skills to marginalized communities.”

The Digital Divide Network now boasts an array of interactive tools, encouraging activists to share resources, publish articles, host virtual discussions and establish online communities. DDN members also have access to free blogging tools that allow them to publish their own commercial-free Web journals.

First launched in December 1999 by the Benton Foundation and the Urban League in response to the National Digital Divide Summit in Washington DC, DDN continues to be the premier online source of information on bridging the digital divide. The new Web site reaffirms DDN’s commitment to improve Internet access and Internet literacy skills for marginalized populations in the U.S. and abroad. According to the latest U.S. census data, nearly 70% of the lowest-income U.S. households lack access to computers. Around the world, billions of people remain disconnected from the Knowledge Society, lacking access to computers and the skills to use them effectively.

“The digital divide is a public policy issue that is not well understood by the general public,” said Andrea Taylor, director of the Center for Media & Community and vice president at EDC. “The next phase of DDN is going to focus on group collaboration and resource development to build a brighter future for the millions of families without access to the Internet.”

The redesign of the Digital Divide Network is funded by the Time Warner Foundation, the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Benton Foundation.