By Southwester Staff
Digital awareness is the knowledge and skills needed to use technology effectively and responsibly. To help Southwest residents with this, community webinars are planned to begin in March.
The webinars are sponsored by the Southwest Neighborhood Assembly’s (SWNA) Digital Empowerment Task Force (DETF). As the newest SWNA Task Force, DETF will identify and pursue projects that address issues related to digital equity, affordable access, training and skills development on devices, digital literacy, financial literacy, cybersecurity, scams, and privacy with a focus on practical and productive use to impact the quality of life.
These services will empower participants to function effectively in an increasingly digital world, enabling them to access crucial online services through technology, such as healthcare, municipal services, social services, and more. In summary, the Digital Empowerment Task Force’s primary goals are to provide services that enhance skills and create opportunities for better employment prospects while addressing digital equity and literacy challenges. Through funded initiatives, the task force seeks to equip individuals with the necessary skills to navigate the digital world effectively and access vital online services.
DETF will sponsor a series of Zoom webinars as part of this activity. The webinars will keep the Southwest community updated, informed, and empowered about the latest developments and uses of technology-related application(s) that could have some fundamental impact on their daily activities or lives. The webinars will be designed around suggested topics from groups and categories such as young and middle-aged adults, senior citizens, veterans, people with disabilities, or others.
Each webinar will be recorded and have a transcript, which will be cataloged on the SWNA website (SWNA.org), a value-added feature. Over the course of a year, the DEFT will pilot 10-12 webinars. We will seek input, suggestions, and feedback from the community on suggested topic areas, the best day and time slot for hosting, and how to continually improve the webinars.
Digital technology is now part of all of our lives, but it’s not always easy to access, use and understand. In the webinars, there will be something for everyone, from students to senior citizens. The first webinar is slated for the second week of March, and more detailed information will be distributed through community outlets such as The Southwester, SWNA and other partners
The DEFT welcomes and invites suggested topic areas for webinars. Please reach out to us at jleonard.detf at gmail.com.