[RTC List] Invitation to forum: Next-gen internet impact on North Coast

[Bob Morse]

You are invited to join community leaders in a March 1st 5-7PM forum at the
Wharfinger Bldg on "Pulling Back the Redwood Curtain: Humboldt County's
Next-Generation Internet Opportunity."  Please RSVP at econdev at humboldt.edu.
See details in the following press release.

Internet Stars Size-up Humboldt's High-tech Future

On Thursday, March 1st, from 5-7pm at the Wharfinger Building in Eureka,
Humboldt State University's Office for Economic and Community Development
will host a free presentation and question-and-answer workshop with Joaquin
Alvarado, founding director of San Francisco State University's Institute
for Next Generation Internet, with Ken Ikeda, of the Bay Area Video
Coalition.  The public is invited to join leaders of business, education,
and cultural organizations for this forum on "Pulling Back the Redwood
Curtain: Humboldt County's Next-Generation Internet Opportunity."

It's universally agreed that the internet is changing the way we
learn/educate, do business, participate in culture, and govern ourselves in
the United States. This consensus is reflected everywhere on newsstands,
bookshelves, televisions, and blogs.  In 2006, Time Magazine declared the
person of the year is "You," or, rather, all the participants of the online
world.  Why did Time Magazine choose millions of people rather than just one
for their annual cover feature?  In their own words, the internet is "a
story about community and collaboration on a scale never seen before."

National airwaves are already filled with conversations about changes and
opportunities the next-generation internet brings our nation, but what's in
store for our local communities of the North Coast? It can empower
distance-learning, for example, allowing language students to practice
speaking with a native speaker in a foreign country; it will enable doctors
to send high-resolution images to out-of-the-area specialists at the top of
their fields; and it can equip business people to meet via high-resolution
video-conferences, saving them the expense of air travel and the Earth its
disproportionate climate change effect.

At the March 1st presentation, Joaquin Alvarado will discuss next-generation
internet applications and the larger role they can play in promoting
economic development and improving education.  He, and co-presenter Ken
Ikeda, will also discuss how we can improve quality of life, and not only
access to, but participation in, culture and government.  Ken Ikeda is the
head of Youth Sounds, part of the Bay Area Video Coalition, a network of
high school-and community-based digital media training centers for
low-income teens.

Joaquin Alvarado is a recognized leader in the efforts to connect California
communities to the next generation internet.  He is currently leading San
Francisco State's outreach efforts to ensure that infrastructure is put in
place so that "all will have access." Alvarado serves on the Digital Media
Advisory Council to San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom.  "We've helped affect
the conversation locally and internationally around priorities with the Next
Generation Internet, and broker a diverse range of stakeholders ‹ something
we didn't have the chance to do with the first Internet," Alvarado says.

Joaquin Alvarado and Ken Ikeda's visit to the North Coast occurs during a
crucial moment.  It's widely recognized that digital connectivity offers a
key to stimulate growth of clean industry and high-quality jobs, but
December and January outages in Humboldt County's only fiber optic link
demonstrated the need for infrastructure development.  Fortunately, HSU
President Rollin Richmond and Humboldt Area Foundation Executive Director
Peter Pennekamp were recently appointed to the Governor's Broadband Task
Force.

Richmond emphasizes the need for North Coast stakeholders to discuss how we
can leverage and employ new infrastructure. "This forum with Mr. Alvarado is
an ideal opportunity to further build the partnerships that will drive
infrastructure development.  Joaquin is an energizing speaker with an
impressive ability to bring people together from different backgrounds."

Maggie Gainer, director of the HSU Office for Economic and Community
Development, sponsoring the forum, says "Joaquin is a brilliant and
inspiring speaker.  Most people don't care about internet technologies in
and of themselves, but they are keenly interested in what those technologies
can do for their lives, businesses, schools, and communities.  Joaquin
understands this, and he is able to communicate this to everyone from the
least to most technical.  He also bridges the communication gap that so
often occurs between these two groups.  He and Ken will be able to talk with
us about specific initiatives and concrete projects they're working on as
examples for North Coast residents."

"Pulling Back the Redwood Curtain: Humboldt County's Next-Generation
Internet Opportunity" is part of the Office for Economic and Community
Development's Taking Care of Business speakers series and
EntrepreneurshipWeek USA activities.  While this forum is free of charge,
your RSVP will be appreciated. For more information on these, and other
Office for Economic and Community Development programs, visit
www.humboldt.edu/~econdev , email econdev at humboldt.edu, or call
707.826.3924.

To download a flier for the event, go to
www.humboldt.edu/~econdev/events/ngi2/redwood_curtain_flier.pdf
-----
Bob Morse
Morse Media
Video Production * Web Development * Web Hosting
http://morsemedia.net
(Phone) 707-444-9566
(Fax)   707-476-8049
(Cell)  707-496-9191


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://redwoodtech.org/pipermail/list_redwoodtech.org/attachments/20070214/f0d44437/attachment.html