The First Mile

Supported by the SSHRC-funded First Nations Innovation Project

The First Mile and First Nations Innovation project hosted the online launch of the Journal of Community Informatics Special Issue: Building the First Mile, Vol 10, No 2 (2014), and the Community Informatics Declaration: An Internet for the Common Good.

Our online event brought together 13 scholars in 11 locations - including 6 in Canada, 3 in the USA (including Hawaii and Alaska), France and Australia - who spoke about their research articles published in the Special Issue. The technical connection (a videoconferencing bridge) for two-hour session was coordinated by Keewaytinook Okimakanak in Sioux Lookout, Ontario.

This webpage contains the video archive of the event, the list of presenters, links to their articles in the Special Issue as well as their presentations.

Click here for a video archive of the 2-hour event (note that the sound improves after a few minutes). You can move the time bar forward to view a particular presentation. The presentation order is below.

1.Susan O'Donnell, Researcher and Adjunct Professor, University of New Brunswick, Canada

The First Mile of Broadband Connectivity in Communities: Introduction to the Special Issue

2. Aljona Zorina, Assistant Professor, Information & Operation Management Department ESCP Europe, Paris, France (presentation slides)

Building Broadband Infrastructure from the Grassroots: the Case of Home LANs in Belarus

3. Allan Bly, Vitel Consulting Inc., Edmonton, Canada

Rural Communications: What is a Rural Municipality's Role?

4. Brian Beaton, Graduate Student, Faculty of Education, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, Canada (presentation slides)

The First Mile Approach to Community Services in Fort Severn First Nation

5. Rob McMahon, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Sociology, University of New Brunswick Vancouver, Canada (presentation slides)

From the First Mile to Outer Space: Tamaani Satellite Internet in Northern Quebec

6. Susan O'Donnell, Researcher and Adjunct Professor, Department of Sociology, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, Canada

Developing an e-Community Approach to Community Services in Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation

7. Michael Karanicolas, Legal Officer for the Centre for Law and Democracy, Halifax, Canada

Bridging the Divide: Understanding and Implementing Access to the Internet as a Human Right

8. Nadine I. Kozak, Assistant Professor at the School of Information Studies, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, USA

Local Communities and Home Rule: Extending the Alberta SuperNet to Unserved Areas

9. Heather Hudson, Professor, Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska Anchorage, USA (presentation slides)

The First Mile Connectivity Consortium and Digital Regulation in Canada

10. Jenifer Sunrise Winter, Assistant Professor; Wayne Buente, Assistant Professor; Patricia Amaral Buskirk, Assistant Professor; School of Communications, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, USA (presentation slides)

Opportunities and Challenges for First-mile Development in Rural Hawaiian Communities

11. Helena Grunfeld, Research Scholar at the Centre for Strategic Economic Studies, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia (presentation slides)

ICT for sustainable development: an example from Cambodia

12: Michael Gurstein, Managing Director, Centre for Community Informatics Research, Development and Training, Vancouver, Canada

Introduction to "An internet for the common good - a Community Informatics declaration"

Susan O'Donnell - facilitating discussion and wrap up.