Today is OneWebDay! A day of on and offline events spanning the globe celebrating the Web. This year’s theme is One Web. For All. bringing attention to issues and work on digital inclusion.
One Web. For All.
OneWebDay opens up techie conversations to everyone. The theme this year of digital inclusion is especially important now as the speed of iteration and advancement is faster than ever and yet there are huge numbers of people without access at all. Those who are excluded and unconnected are getting online at such a slow pace compared to the break-neck speed the “rest of us” are plowing ahead. The only way, in my view, to bring those you aren’t connected or participating online into the conversations, especially those on digital inclusion, to help shape policies and changes for creating one web that really does serve everyone. So, for OneWebDay today I wanted to share a few ways that I think we can all help others join the conversation about creating a Web that includes everyone.
Creating for All
There are many ways to get involved in OneWebDay (see below) but some of the actions that can be most powerful in light of this year’s focus on digital inclusion include:
- Join in and contribute to the conversations, networks, organizations and conferences/events specifically focused on digital inclusion (here in the UK that includes Digital Britain, Digital Inclusion Conference, and many others)
- Share your story (about how you got online, what your first online engagement or activity was, etc.) with local networks working to create online spaces to bring more people online
- Ask your partner, parent, or friend who isn’t online, why? what or how would need to change to get them there? (Don’t assume you know the answer!)
- Are you having a OneWebDay event today? Invite people who would not have seen your online promotions to join you at the ballroom, office or pub to be part of your celebrations and conversations.
- Are you developing tools, applications, or platforms for the web? Invite your friends, neighbors, parents, and others to give you feedback (even if they don’t know what the words you use mean) about what they would benefit from that maybe you and your network hasn’t considered yet.
OneWebDay is more than September 22nd. The ways above to contribute to this movement are available for you every day.
Every time you host an event, convene a conversation, design a workshop, or anything else, invite those who weren’t on the email list, or at the last event, or part of your local community’s “social media club” to come participate, contribute, and learn.
Continue to share your story and help others share theirs so we can identfy factors and opportunities contributing to a web for all.
Regardless of next year’s topic for the September 22nd celebrations, digital inclusion remains a core barrier to truly celebrating the web globally.
Get Involved
There are many ways you can participate in OWD09 and help celebrate the web. Here are just a few ideas to get you started:
- Participate in Local Events
- Perform an Internet Health Check
- Post Your Own OneWebDay Story
- Youth: Post a Video Response to the OWD Video
- Sign up for a Mozilla Service Week Volunteer Opportunity
- Help Universal Giving Bring the Web to the Developing World
- Post Your Unique Ideas!
- Help OneWebDay grow by spreading the word
About OneWebDay
For the last four years, OneWebDay has attracted a global network of partner organizations and individual activists committed to broadening the public’s awareness of Internet and Web issues while deepening a culture of participation in building a Web that works for everyone. In 2008, OneWebDay organizers documented volunteer-driven events in 34 different cities across the world. In 2009, we’re geared for events in over 50 cities in 20 countries! OneWebDay is all about your passion for the Web and your creativity.
Hi Amy,
Thanks for posting your feedback on our blog on The National Pages. Looks like the concept of OneWebDay just didn’t get moving here in the UK yesterday. Seems to be growing in the US and I guess will catch on here in the UK in a year or two.
Hope you get more interest next year.
Regards
Nigel
Thanks, Nigel – I hope it gets more of a hold in the UK next year as well – there is so much potential for change and awareness with opportunities to come together around the world about larger issues tied to technology and the communication tools that let us connect as a world already.
We’ll just have to see!
It is amazing how technology has such a duality in uniting those who have access to it, while at the same time completely excluding those who are “out of the loop.” Working to provide access to those without is just one awesome way to further development through technology. One of my favorite organizations is one that provides technology access for Mayan women in Guatemala.