Talk:Community connectivity – empowering the unconnected – WS 03 2017

22. March 2017 - First planning call

Participants:

Karolina (IFLA), Mikhail Doroshshevich (Baltic Internet Policy Initiative), Marina Sokolova, Fotjon Kosta (Albanian IGF), Maarit Palovirta (Internet Society)

Geographical focus for WS3:

Europe = EU countries, South-Eastern Europe and Eastern Europe

WS3 Access for Communities – Discussion on Scope:

• In Europe, there are still communities without Internet connectivity, and communities with unsatisfactory Internet connectivity in terms of quality and affordability.
• The level of connectivity does not necessarily depend the economic situation of any one country – rather it depends on the prevailing policy environment, market conditions and the people.
• How can we help increase Internet access in underserved areas in Europe? What can people do to accelerate Internet development in their specific community?
• Community networks, whereby networks are typically managed, operated and/or owned by community members, have generally been successful in driving the take-up rate among the end users and in building financially sustainable cases. Examples of such projects can be found amongst EU broadband good practices(filter: community broadband model).
• Uptake of Internet in communities, where access to infrastructure already exists, can be boosted by different types of open community hubs e.g. public libraries or telecentres.
• Local and multi-lingual content/ services play a key role to motivate people to connect, or to get involved with community access initiatives.

Modus operandi for workshops:

• The general opinion was that it would be good to invite a limited number of experts (max 4) to initiate the discussion with a concrete example or an interesting idea/ statement.
• Otherwise, we should engage two moderators, who drive the discussion and engage the audience.

Timeline:

• We will finalise the workshop descriptions in the next 2 weeks by e-mail.
• The next org team call will take place during the week of 10 April. Please look out for a Doodle request to find a suitable timeslot.