After everyone introduced themselves, I gave a brief history of DDN, and talked about the potential goals of DDN meetups. I noted that different communities will have varying perspectives and priorities when it comes to bridging the digital divide, so there wouldn't be a specific formula or set of goals that would apply to all local meetups. Having said that, I also said that Boston's DDN meetup group could serve as a model for other groups to be formed around the country, so we should document what we're doing, what works and what doesn't.
The group then discussed what it would like to get out of the experience. Some participants expressed interest in being able to profile local initiatives; others hoped to discuss national and international issues, such as the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). Rebecca MacKinnon talked about issues such as Internet governance, free expression and online civic journalism, while I discussed using DDN meetups so local communities could host their own digital divide forums during the WSIS summit next November. There also seemed to be a strong overarching interest in building local social networks of individuals and groups working to bridge the digital divide.
I suggested that we try to create a meeting format in which we would begin each meeting with introductions and announcements, then a brief discussion about what's going on online with DDN. This would be followed by a time slot in which a participant would be invited to present a project or facilitate a discussion on a topic of interest. Meetings would close with final thoughts, action items and any next steps for planning future meetups. Some participants also suggested that in between monthly gatherings, individuals could organize special interest group gatherings that might be of interest to a subset of the group.
Wrapping up the meetup, I asked participants to brainstorm potential topics for future meetings, as well as ways to reach out to others in the greater Boston area. We also plan to compile a list of potential meeting sites, either for a regular meetup location or a rotating schedule. Members hoped that locations would have free wifi, though the group was divided as to whether access to beer was a requirement or not. :-)
All in all, I think it was a very successful first meetup. I was only expecting seven or eight people, so the fact we got 14 people was a very positive sign. Hopefully others who attended will share their thoughts about the meeting as well.
-- ----------------------------------- Andy Carvin Program Director EDC Center for Media & Community acarvin @ edc . org http://www.digitaldivide.net http://www.tsunami-info.org Blog: http://www.andycarvin.com ----------------------------------- _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
