Webinars : From Rural Divide to Rural Dividend: Broadband in Rural Canada

Source: RDI.
Thursday, March 21, 2013. High numbers of people use broadband daily for business, school, and personal interest yet disparity exist between those in urban centers and those in rural areas. Urban dwellers have a choice of providers and those in rural areas have limited access or none at all. This digital divide means missing out on economic and social dividends in rural areas.

Canada’s broadband case is precarious because of the size and distance of our communities. Identified broadband challenges include building partnerships, selecting appropriate technology, gaining community support, keeping an eye on big picture policies like spectrum and fostering innovation with integrated action planning. In overcoming the challenges facing rural broadband, we need to rethink the way we perceive broadband technology and start to see it as a necessity worthy of investment in order to create and enable more opportunity for rural Canada.

Four webinar presenters will share their experience and their role in tackling some of the challenges on rural broadband in Canada.

Free Webinar
When: Thursday, March 21, 2013 (please RSVP by March 19)
Time: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. (CST)
For more information or to register contact Rural Development Instiute at:
rdi2@brandonu.ca / 204-571-8550

PRESENTERS

Lisa Severson
Has worked in the municipal sector for ten years in a variety of positions; in 2007 she began working with the Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus (EOWC). She is the Communication and Stakeholder Relation Officer for the EOWC Eastern Ontario Regional Network Project, a $170 million high –speed, high capacity broadband network. She is the key liaison between First Nation community, over 100 municipalities and companies that are involved in the government private partnership project.

Dr. Helen Hambly Odame
From Capacity Development and Extension program at the School of Environment Design and Rural Development at the University of Guelph. Her research interest crosses information, communication and rural society. She sets up and oversees a Multi-Media lab for rural communication studies with links to universities around the world as well as community partners.

Dr. Samuel Trosow
An associate professor at the University of Western Ontario, Faculty of Information and Media Studies and Faculty of Law. Network Investigator and Theme Leader in Graphics, Animation and New Media (GRAND) NCE, and he is currently examining Broadband Spectrum. He is the co-author of Canadian Copyright: A citizen’s Guide. He frequently speaks on copyright and other information policy issues.

Wayne Kelly
Researcher with Brandon University Rural Development Institute, his activities focus on exploring and applying information and communication technology to improve decision-making and policy development for communities and government. Wayne believes that applying innovative development research to help rural Canada realize the challenges and opportunities facing it as society, the economy and technology change. Wayne has a blog on rural broadband technology.

WWW: www.brandonu.ca/rdi