One of Comcast’s high priorities is digital literacy: empowering youth through technology. We’re having a celebration Monday morning in Tacoma to honor the first Comcast Digital Connectors in Washington state. The partners include Comcast, One Economy, the Tacoma Urban League, and the great folks at The Evergreen State College – Tacoma who opened their media lab to the students. There will be several Digital Connector sites in the Seattle area starting this Fall.
We’ll have ‘almost live’ coverage via photos that will be posted to Picasa Click on that link after about 9 a.m. Monday and if all the tech is working, you’ll see some of the excitement and the happy faces of the young people and proud members of the community.
Meanwhile here’s a preview of something many people will see for the first time during the graduation: a movie that the Digital Connectors helped produce with Comcast’s video wizard Ed Hauge.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHhAvjiE_MA]
We will post a news release and more info after the event. The Comcast Digital Connectors program trains young people on digital literacy skills, such as how to network computer labs, connect wireless access points and create video documentaries. The students then volunteer their time at various organizations to help improve digital literacy in their larger communities, teaching them leadership skills and the importance of giving back.
This is the first such location in Washington for this nationwide program; there will be several sites in Seattle next academic year. In addition to Tacoma, the Comcast Digital Connectors program has already launched in Washington, D.C.; Denver, Colorado; Houston, Texas; Springfield, Massachusetts; Dearborn, Michigan; Morgantown, West Virginia; Modesto, California; Burlington, Vermont; and Tallahassee, Miami and Palm Beach, Florida. Other sites expected to kick off by the end of 2010 include: Atlanta, Georgia; Chicago, Illinois; Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Portland, Oregon; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Twin Cities, Minnesota.
