NARALO Trip/Event Assessment 5

I was interested in attending this conference as thought it was a good way to outreach to the other participants attending this conference.  Very few people were aware of ICANN, how it works, polices regarding domain names and internet governance.  There was also no real knowledge about the new GTLDs or even the current rules and protection offered by EDU and dot org domains. 

Conference was geared to people working on digital inclusion through out the US. These include librarians, digital literacy consultants, Government workers, NGOs, and other groups helping with the US funded Connected home Program which seeks to integrate broadband into the public housing units through out the US.  

Digital Inclusion refers to the activities necessary to ensure that all individuals and communities have access to and use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and can become active members of the society. Digital Inclusion requires intentional strategies and investments to reduce and eliminate historical, institutional and structural barriers to access and use technologyThis includes 5 elements: 1) affordable, robust broadband internet service; 2) internet-enabled devices that meet the needs of the user; 3) access to digital literacy training; 4) quality technical support; and 5) applications and online content designed to enable and encourage self-sufficiency, participation and collaboration.

This conference is an excellent place to attract new ALSes to NARALO and also to conduct outreach and engagement on ICANN related issues.  It is these exact groups who are at the forefront of educating lower income ciitzens, Indigenous groups, and others who have been left out of society.  It is also these groups who do not have the necessary skills to gain new jobs.  It is also this group who need knowledge of how ICANN works so that they can learn to protect and arm themselves about cyper threats and make sure that they take correct preventive action against these threats.  They are just getting started and so are very vulnerable to attacks. 

NARALO ALSes can work and partner with many different groups here to assist them in providing knowledge and assistance on domain name issues, internet and domain security and internet governance training.  NDIA works collaboratively to craft, identify and disseminate financial and operational resources for digital inclusion programs while serving as a bridge to policymakers and the general public.

In efforts to teach critical thinking some of the literacy instructors ask their students to look at the domain names, dot org, dot edu, dot com and have their students try to understand which are good sites to trust and which are not, but while this will likely not be so problematical with dot edu sites it is problematical with dot com and some dot org.  That is why it is essential for many to learn about ICANN and the polices that At Large is advocating in the new GTLD arena to ensure that consumers can still trust companies who use .domains such pharmacy to in fact be who they say they are and that they are validated.

Talked to numerous participants about ICANN and about NARALO and the goals of NARALO and At Large.  Introduced. Participants ranged from librarians, city housing directors, digital inclusion workers, Americorps volunteers, teachers, university students, digital literacy instructors, housing advocates, etc and introduced them to ICANN and At Large as well as to the ICANN Fellowship, Next Gen Program, and also for Indigenous groups, the new Indigenous fellowship pilot.

Original goal was to reach out to states, cities, tribal areas of the US where NARALO had no current ALSes and also to reach out and engage with groups who have historically been overlooked by ICANN and to try and engage with them and encourage them to learn about ICANN, NARALO. Our goal here was to increase their understanding and encourage them to get involved and advocate for their interests within ICANN.We succeeded in this goal.  This is a great conference to meet with groups whose vision and goals are aligned with NARALO's and who can help expand our objectives and goals into some of these forgotten communities.  It fits well with ICANN's mission of promoting a secure, stable, and inclusive internet.  The members and affiliates of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance share teh same passion as NARALO ALSes in serving end users – by furthering the
development of information and communications technologies and by uniting associations that represent the interests of Internet end users.

Our other goal was also to educate many of these organizations and individuals on how they can become an ALS, how we can help them amplify their voice and advocate for their members.We also share the same goals and focus on low income, Native American and other indigenous groups, and people with disabilities and specific needs.  I distributed NARALO Flyers to many different groups and talked about At Large and our mission, goals and objectives.  Many of the people I spoke to were very interested in learning more about ICANN, At Large, and NARALO and hope that this will lead to more collaborations and new ALSes.