As Digital Inclusion Week 2024 swings into action, frontline digital inclusion practitioners from across the nation will come together for a timely Building for Digital Equity (#B4DE) livestream event today that focuses on “Coalition Building for Success.”

The popular (and free) virtual gathering – co-hosted by Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) Community Broadband Networks Initiative and the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) – will go live today from 3 to 4:15 PM ET.

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For Digital equity advocates or interested guests who have yet register for the event, there is still time to register here.

The third #B4DE of the year will delve into how coalitions are finding success in pushing the digital equity movement forward as Digital Equity Act grant programs are being established.

The keynote speaker for today’s livestream will be Georgia Savage, Deputy Director of #OaklandUndivided, who helped lead the way in securing $38.5 million in grant funding that will expand broadband infrastructure and distribute Internet-connected devices to thousands of low-income households across East and West Oakland, California.

Last week, the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) announced a new initiative, Seven Star Communities, to highlight the excellent work being done by Native communities to “strengthen self-determination and close the digital divide through sustainable digital inclusion work.”

Over the past few years, ILSR has documented the efforts of record numbers of Native nations to take control of their own digital futures by launching Tribally-owned and controlled broadband projects.

But infrastructure is only part of the story of how Tribes are closing the digital divide in Indian Country. Increasingly, Native nations are also advancing digital inclusion priorities and programs that foreground self-determination and sovereignty.

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Seven Star Communities aims to recognize and amplify these digital equity initiatives while supporting the growth of a vibrant community of Indigenous digital equity practitioners. The initiative was developed in partnership with AMERIND Critical Infrastructure, a Tribally-owned company that supports Tribal broadband deployment, and informed by the expertise of a group of advisors and mentors active in Tribal broadband and digital equity.

Felix McGowan, Director of AMERIND Critical Infrastructure, notes that the initiative recognizes “Native communities who are adapting to the new digital environment. They have been adapting digital inclusion efforts in innovative ways and practicing effective, sustainable self-governance.”