Media Events, Gatherings Honor Innovative Uses of the Web on Behalf of Communities and Access to Technology:

The GII Awards and the Connecting All Americans Conference Feature Sites to See

by Charlotte Gerstein
Community Connector Staff

On April 20th, the winners of the third annual Global Information Infrastructure awards were announced at the Comdex trade show in Chicago. Promoted as the "Oscars" of the Internet and hosted this year by Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, this private sector initiative seeks to recognize "best practices and new models in the application of Internet and network technologies." Winners in 11 categories were chosen from 60 finalists out of a field of 900 by 280 judges. In addition to linking to the winning sites themselves, as well as scores of finalist and semifinalist sites, the Third Annual GII Awards website also offers links to each site's entry information, including an explanation of that site's particular innovation, as well as links to guided tours of each winning site.

Some Winners

Of particular interest to the community networking community this year are the winners in these categories: Children, Community, Government, Promise, Public Access.

For the "Children's" category, the winner was Getting Real/Kidsites 3000

"Getting Real is a Web site where teenagers find a voice, advice, support and community as they make the transition from high school to the outside world. With kids as active participants in building the site and creating its content, Getting Real offers a model for successful children's media."

The winner in the "Community" category was: THE BODY: An AIDS and HIV Information Resource

"THE BODY is a health information Web site and virtual community dedicated specifically and directly to individuals with AIDS/HIV, their clinicians, caregivers, advocates, friends and family. Over 7000 documents are available along with treatment information, interactive forums and that incredibly therapeutic capacity for people to communicate with each other on the most personal, human of terms."

The "Government" awardee was IndyGov: Online Access to Indianapolis Local Government

"IndyGov is a model Web site serving government and citizens in Indianapolis. IndyGov goes far beyond the typical offering of information on the Web, it allows citizens and businesses to do business with the government by applying for permits, paying parking tickets, finding parks, communicating with city officials and allocating the city budget. IndyGov demonstrates that use of the Internet and reinventing government are a perfect marriage."

In the "Promise" category, the winner was SERVEnet: The World of Service and Volunteering

"SERVEnet is the largest web site devoted to service and volunteering. It supports both volunteers and volunteer organization through a forum where volunteer opportunities, resources, events and news can be accessed interactively."

The "Public Access" winner was Community Technology Centers' [CTCNet] Public Access Program

"The CTCNet Public Access Program, is a support project for more than 250 community organizations worldwide, including libraries, homeless agencies and housing developments. Through training, start-up kits, and Web-based support, CTCNet helps these organizations develop technology access programs as a basic approach to empowering the disenfranchised and closing the digital divide."

"Community" finalists and Semifinalists

The finalists in the "Community" category are also well worth checking out. From the finalists page, you can also link to entry information and a guided tour of each site. Or, click on a link below to go to the site itself.

ConvoNation: Virtual Hangout for Sick and Disabled Kids

"ConvoNation uses the power of the Internet to empower kids who are otherwise isolated and disconnected due to serious illness or disability."

 

Moms Online: A Home for Moms in Cyberspace

"An online community of mothers -- whether pregnant, with babies, toddlers, or teens--meeting to share support, information, encouragement, and camaraderie."

Regarding Vietnam: Stories Since the War

"A website that has created a "common ground" for people with dramatically different experiences of -- and perspectives on -- the Vietnam era."

SeniorNet: Bringing Wisdom to the Information Age

"Seniornet Online sustains a collaborative educational environment for seniors to enrich their lives and share their wisdom with others."

The Family Village

"The Family Village is a virtual community for the families of children with disabilities or special health care needs."

Many of the semi-finalists in the Community category this year were community networks. Check out the page of semi-finalists, including the Boston Women's Network, Columbia Basin Public Information Network, CompuMentor, FairNet: Fairbanks Community Network,Tallahassee Free-Net, GriefNet, an Internet Support Community, HUD's Homes and Communities Page, Kalamazoo TeleCITY, KidsCampaigns, LatinoWeb, LibertyNet, Making Healthy MUSIC (Multi User Sessions In Community), NET at TWO RIVERS, Project America, Rio Grande Free-Net, Using the Internet, mobilizing volunteers for community action, Peace It Together On-Line Community Center.

At the Connecting All Americans conference,10 Innovative Sites Were Featured

At the February 24-27 conference, "Connecting All Americans for the 21st Century: Telecommunications Links in Low Income & Rural Communities," ten demonstration projects were highlighted, some of which also subsequently won GII awards.

Joan Durrance attended and offers this account:

"Ever notice how conferences in Washington and in other locations that include a senator or a member of Congress always note in the fine print that the presence of the elected official will be reconfirmed at conference time?

Not so with the recent conference, Connecting All Americans for the 21st Century (http://www.pulpny.org/CAM/), co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Commerce: National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Public Utility Law Project. This conference, which focused on telecommunications links in low income and rural communities, brought together an incredible mix of government officials, telecommunications leaders, non-profit organizations, and citizen leaders.

Connecting All Americans promised--and delivered--one Vice-President (Al Gore), two senators (Robert Kerrey, Nebraska, and Conrad Burns, Montana), three members of Congress (Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas; Robert Menendez, New Jersey; and Major Owens, New York), one Cabinet officer, William Daley, Secretary of Commerce, the head of the FCC, and numerous high-ranking governmental officials and representatives of the private sector. The glue that held the conference together was clearly Assistant Secretary of Commerce, Larry Irving. Real Audio versions of the speakers' presentations are available on the conference's website.

The conference delivered even more as it brought together, from across the nation, people who represent projects which show how collaborative efforts in communities are working to connect low-income and rural communities to the Internet and to educational and economic development opportunities.

Conferees heard from speakers whose presentations covered such topics as the Universal Service policies and infrastructure grants provided by the Department of Commerce, problems associated with making information technology equally available to all citizens, and examples of the use of specific technologies as well as models which have been developed to bridge the gap for particular groups of people.

Folks were wined and dined by conference sponsors CISCO Systems, Microsoft, Vtel, WINStar, WIT, Bell Atlantic, Bell South, AT&T and MCI.

Conferees had the opportunity to talk with representatives of ten projects which had been chosen to demonstrate 'successful, cutting-edge, urban and rural, large-scale and small-scale, advanced 'on-line' and interactive video, community networking projects that use an array of advanced telecommunications platforms.'

The conference showed that if Americans work collaboratively it will be possible to connect all Americans for the 21st Century."

The featured projects were:

Adirondack Area Network, a rural community network in upstate New York.

Buffalo CityNet, featuring 14 interactive video centers around the Buffalo, New York, area.

Columbia Basin Public Information Network (CBPIN), which includes the Columbia Free-Net: "CBPIN is a regional community networking project that partners with organizations to enhance technology access to targeted "have not" populations in rural southeastern Washington State." (A GII semi-finalist)

Dakota Interconnect, a project to build a telecommunications infrastructure in northeast South Dakota.

Hays Medical Center, using telecommunications tools to give homebound elderly and disabled patients contact with health-care providers from home.

iSCAN, a consortium of 22 telephone companies in South Carolina, working together to offer broadband services and applications to businesses, government, and medical and educational institutions.

Logan Online at Logan Elementary School in Baltimore County, Maryland, a 3-year project that linked 100 third-graders (now fourth graders) to the Internet and an intranet from home and school.

Partnership IDEAS Network, a set of pilot projects in Nebraska to improve human services delivery

Diversified Information and Assistance NEtwork (DIANE), "Project DIANE is a virtual community network which offers a diverse portfolio of teleconference-based programs in education, neighborhood outreach and local economic development." (A GII semifinalist)

Western Consortium Tele-Reporting, a demonstration of wireless technology to support mobile public health practitioners.