Connecting Communities: Did the Recovery Act Stimulate More than Debate?
FRIDAY APRIL 8, 11:00AM - 12:30PM @ THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR MEDIA REFORM
The funding for broadband expansion included in the 2009 stimulus package is arguably the most significant shift in Internet policy in the past decade. Across the country, corporations, government agencies and community-based organizations mobilized to apply for the funding, in many cases laying out expansive, collaborative visions for what the Internet could be. What did we learn from this process? What challenges are communities facing as they begin realizing those visions? How do these lessons affect federal policy and the prospects for future funding programs? This panel discussion will provide an overview of the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program and four case studies of collaborative approaches to the application process. The discussion will not only look back at the broadband stimulus, but share practical lessons for others to use in their own local organizing to transform federal policy and build the Internet we would like to see.
Jenny Lee will represent for Allied Media Projects on this panel.
Jenny Lee is a co-director of the Detroit-based organization, Allied Media Projects, through which she organizes the annual Allied Media Conference. As a member of the Detroit Digital Justice Coalition, she helped bring $2 million in broadband stimulus funds to Detroit, fueling Detroit's growing media-based economy, and redefining "broadband adoption" from an ISP subscription to a process of community transformation. She is a founder of the Detroit Summer Live Arts Media Project, a youth leadership program that uses hip hop, journalism and online technologies to address the education crisis in the city. She believes that through participatory media and technology we can build a more just and creative world.