The Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development (NERCRD) is pleased to announce a call for presentation proposals addressing issues of digital equity for inclusion in its upcoming Northeast Digital Equity Summit, which will take place virtually on September 19, 2023, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET.

Proposals are invited from Land-Grant Universities for 45-minute breakout sessions that describe projects and strategies in the following topic areas:  

• The role of digital literacy in use/non-use of online government services
• The role of community-based organizations (e.g., public libraries, non-government organizations) in fostering digital inclusion
• Fear and distrust in technology
• Program implementation
• Access, equity, and opportunity
• Partnerships
• Organizational systems
• Success stories and impact
• How does enhanced digital skills training improve participation in the economy? 

Proposals are due June 30 and should be submitted via this online survey, which requires a presentation title, the names of all authors and their affiliations, the specific topic(s) to be addressed, and both a full and abbreviated abstract. Questions can be addressed to Peter Wulfhorst, Extension Educator, Penn State Extension, ptw3@psu.edu. We will notify you by July 20 if your session has been accepted. 

The Northeast Digital Equity Summit will provide an opportunity for land-grant University educators and researchers across the Northeast region to learn from one another and expand capacity for digital equity programming in the Northeast. The Summit is being organized by Penn State Extension, University of Maryland Extension, Cornell Extension, and the NERCRD. Keynote sessions will include presentations from the National Digital Extension Education Team (NDEET), University of Maryland College of Information Sciences and others. More information will be posted to the NERCRD website as it becomes available.

NERCRD is one of four regionally focused Rural Development Centers funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to link the research and educational outreach capacity of the nation’s public universities with communities, local decision-makers, entrepreneurs, families, and farmers and ranchers to help address a wide range of development issues. NERCRD is hosted at Penn State and serves the Northeast states from Maine to West Virginia and the District of Columbia. 

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