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City of Seattle
Gregory J. Nickels, Mayor
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NEWS ADVISORY
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| SUBJECT: Seattle’s Community Technology Program Named a Finalist in 5th Annual Global Stockholm Challenge
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
6/27/2002 2:28:00 PM |
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Rona Zevin (206)684-8264
David Keyes (206)386-9759
Kathy Sugiyama (206) 684-0909
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Seattle’s Community Technology Program
Named a Finalist in
5th Annual Global Stockholm Challenge
Projects show strengthened democracy, safer health care and
increased integration through information technology
The city of Seattle’s Community Technology Program has been named a finalist in the "e-government" category of the Stockholm Challenge 2002, an international competition highlighting the benefit that information and communication technology can bring people and society.
Seattle’s Community Technology Program aims to promote and foster a "technology- healthy community" by ensuring residents have the technology training and access needed to ensure civic and cultural participation, employment, and lifelong learning.
"The city of Seattle aims to be a leader in e-government and has worked steadily to increase services available on-line," Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels said. "But to meet this commitment, we must ensure all residents can fully access and use e-government services. Even in a wired city like Seattle, our research shows many groups are being left behind. Our Community Technology Program was established to help close this ‘digital divide.’ "
Concerns about the digital divide led Seattle to develop a community technology program and create the nation’s first "community technology planner" position in 1997.
The community technology planner, David Keyes, and his staff have developed public Internet access points and technology literacy projects throughout the city, with an emphasis on low-income residents, senior citizens, immigrants, minorities and other technology underserved communities.
Seattle operates in partnership to implement its programs, working with the technology, neighborhood, business, education and human services communities, as well as with other government jurisdictions. These programs are supported using money set aside from cable television franchise fees.
The Community Technology Program also includes strategic planning; data collection and mapping; technical advising; coordinating resource development; free web and listserv hosting for community organizations; and promoting civic use of technology. For more information on this program, see http://www.cityofseattle.net/tech/
The Stockholm Challenge focuses on the positive effects of today’s information society, and the benefit information and communication technology can bring people and society. The Stockholm Challenge is not only a competition, but a meeting place for people who share a vision about the future. The big challenge is to bridge the digital divide.
This marks the fifth year of the Stockholm Challenge. Of nearly 600 applicants from 78 countries, an international jury selected 101 finalists in the six categories: e-government, culture, health, education, e-business and environment. Most of the finalists come from the United States (16), followed by India (11) and Sweden (10). Other countries boasting finalists include Lithuania, Czechia, Nepal, United Arab Emirates, Zimbabwe, South Korea and Cuba. The winners of the six categories will be announced at a ceremony in the Stockholm City Hall on Oct. 10, 2002.
The jury based its evaluation on the following four criteria: innovation; user need; accessibility; transferability. Special attention is given to projects that promote democracy, counteract segregation and discrimination, or support gender equality.
In 1999, the city of Seattle’s Public Access Network (PAN) was named a finalist in the Challenge’s "public service and democracy" category. Both PAN and the Community Technology Program are managed by Seattle’s department of Information Techology.
The Stockholm Challenge is a nonprofit initiative of the city of Stockholm. For further information, see http://www.challenge.stockholm.se/
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Community Technology Program
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