Forum on technology and digital engagement

With Google Fiber and other new technology, may folks in Kansas City are interested in issues of digital equality.

UMKC’s Cookingham Institute of Urban Affairs and its department of Architecture, Urban Planning and Design will focus on these issues at an April 19 forum.

“Across Kansas City, the ‘digital city” is emerging,” they say in a press release. “The advent of Google Fiber in Kansas City is raising interest and difficult questions about open access to the web in the age of privatized high-speed access and the digital divide. For this forum we hope to explore the ways in which new technologies can enhance democratic engagement at the local level and how you can play a role in maintaining public access and promoting equitable development in the context of the digital city.”

The forum will feature:

• Ashley Z. Hand, chief innovation officer, City of Kansas City
• Jase Wilson, CEO, Neighborly
• Stephen Hardy, chief community builder, Mindmixer
• DeWayne Bright, community organizer, Historic East Neighborhoods Coalition

Details

April 19, noon to 1 p.m., Katz Hall, UMKC, 5005 Rockhill Road