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| The National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) named the City of Austin a 2022 Digital Inclusion Trailblazer again. This was the second year in a row that the City made the list for its leadership in digital equity. Trailblazers are judged based on six criteria showing a city or county’s digital inclusion leadership. These include having full-time local government staff, a digital inclusion plan, an open-access coalition, survey research, funded digital inclusion programming and efforts to increase affordability of home broadband service. The City of Austin scored in five of the six Digital Inclusion Trailblazer categories. “We’re proud to be a trailblazer in the field of digital inclusion and to be recognized by NDIA again this year,” said Rondella Hawkins, the City of Austin’s Telecommunications and Regulatory Affairs Officer. “One of the city’s goals is to empower all Austin residents with affordable and reliable internet service and the skills to take advantage of it. It can open a world of new services from finding a job to working from home, family video calls, school work, telemedicine, ending social isolation and many other uses.” In 2014, the Austin City Council approved its first Digital Inclusion Strategic Plan with a vision for every Austin resident to have an opportunity to be fully engaged in the digital society. At the time, five pillars for sustainable digital inclusion were identified – affordability, internet connectivity, devices, training and IT support. Digital equity and inclusion continue to be an important City goal with work on an updated Digital Inclusion Strategic Plan underway. About National Digital Inclusion Alliance: NDIA advances digital equity by supporting community programs and equipping policymakers to act. Working collaboratively with more than 800 digital inclusion practitioners, NDIA advocates for broadband access, tech devices, digital skills training, and tech support. For more information on Digital Inclusion Trailblazers, visit digitalinclusion.org/digital- |
