The National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) hosted another fabulous summit, this time in San Antonio, TX! It was the biggest yet, boasting 800 attendees. That’s a record in growth even from last year, when just 300 people attended.
“The number of people here at Net Inclusion is a testament to the quality of our programming and how far the digital inclusion field has come,” said Angela Siefer, NDIA executive director. “From San Antonio, to rural Maine, to San Francisco, to the Gila River Indian Reservation – our communities are eager to include those left behind and to make digital equity a reality. We’re bringing together our collective work in these three days, and we’re all so excited to feel the power of our movement.”
There were fabulous conversations at every table, and the ideas flowed freely from Day 1 to Day 3. Of course, the hottest topic on everyone’s minds was the Digital Equity Act. Speakers and panelists throughout the event addresses the incoming funds and how critical it will be for organizations to be ready to jump into action. Attendees seemed to get particular insight from sessions on how states are approaching their planning projects. For those who weren’t connected with their state broadband offices or other entities managing the Digital Equity Planning Program, this event offered opportunities to meet their colleagues for the first time.
As in past years, the number of libraries represented by one or more staff was stunning. The Lightning Round sessions featured library efforts heavily, and at lunch library workers met in “affinity groups” to discuss issues specific to our profession (or just to commiserate with others who get it). Many of the library world’s bleeding edge innovators were there, but in typical librarian fashion, they were usually not the ones talking. Despite a strong turnout, it seems our colleagues are still most comfortable listening. Is that a learning mindset, or imposter syndrome? It’s hard to say.
In an example of a professional organization living its professed values, NDIA made it a priority to livestream many of the event’s plenary sessions. This allowed practitioners from all over the US to benefit, regardless of their budgets. That is particularly beneficial to rural libraries whose costs just to travel to the conference are higher. Hopefully NDIA will continue this practice in the future as they expand their reach even further.
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