State of the Internet: Fostering a Healthy Digital Civic Society in Burlington, Vermont
On Thursday, October 19 I joined local stakeholders in Burlington, Vermont to discuss the state of the Internet and how it impacts Vermont residents. We explored how key issues described in Mozilla’s Internet Health Report affect the diverse communities in and around Burlington. We identified local strengths, weaknesses, and disparities related to these issues and brainstormed what steps we can take to address gaps and vulnerabilities related to Internet Health locally.
The event took place during Burlington’s Innovation Week. The week celebrates entrepenuership and technology in the greater Burlington area. I hosted the event with Mary Danko, the Director of the Fletcher Free Library and Abby Tykocki, BTV Ignite’s Executive Fellow. For several weeks leading up to the event, we planned the agenda and reached out to local stakeholders with the intention to:
- Raise awareness of key Internet Health issues among civic leaders in Burlington, Vermont.
- Gain access to a network of civic leaders that can continue to take action on Internet Health Issues statewide in Vermont.
- Point to this event as an example of how Burlington,VT is invested in advancing digital civic society.
The full event was recorded and is available for viewing courtesy of CCTV Channel 17 Town Meeting Television.
It was a full house. A wide range of people from diverse fields came including representatives from city government, public education, law, entrepreneurship, software development, youth programs and more. We started with an introduction to current methodologies that Mozilla uses to gauge internet health across key indicators, such as openness, inclusion, privacy, security, decentralization, and web literacy. Then we reviewed and discussed regional data related to Internet accessibility and usage.
After that we broke into small groups to explore answers to the following questions:
- What are some examples of healthy and unhealthy markers for Digital Inclusion in Burlington, Vermont?
- Who is especially vulnerable to Internet Health issues in Burlington?
- What resources currently exist that help bridge the digital divide for people in Burlington?
- What resources do we still need to bridge the digital divide in Burlington?
- What data do we need to inform how we increase Digital Inclusion in Burlington?
- What other questions do we need to ask to take action toward a healthy Internet in Burlington?
Each group captured notes about their discussion and summarized them during a final share out.
One group identified the need for better data about who is accessing the Internet in Burlington, how they are accessing it and why or why not. Another group pointed to several resources and programs that help youth and families get affordable internet and training on how to use it. A third group noted the benefit of having more resources that help New American and marginalized communities get online safely and securely. After a lengthy reflection on these ideas and more we concluded the event and made plans to continue the conversation.
In a follow up survey we asked several questions to get feedback on the event and advice on what we could do better. One of these questions asked what we should do to move this conversation forward. Three quarters of the respondents think we should collect more data on how Internet Health issues impact VT residents. Half of them think we should create a local Internet Health working group. A quarter of them think we should offer more workshops and print informative materials to share widely.
Mary, Abbie and I are pulling together outcomes from the feedback and from the group discussions to figure out how we can keep the momentum going. I see this event as a catalyst in generating more events and research that impact the state of the Internet in Burlington, VT.
Big thanks to Burlington Telecom for sponsoring the event and to Study Hall for hosting us in their beautiful space.
