This newsletter contains information on:
- PBDD Hosting virtual reception- with drink recipes
- Reflections on the past year
- Net Inclusion webinar series in April and May
PBDD-sponsored Net Inclusion Reception
Partners Bridging the Digital Divide is proud to sponsor the Net Inclusion On-line Reception.
It will be held on April 7, 2021 at 7:30 pm EDT/6:30 CDT/5:30 MDT/4:30 PDT/MST
Click here to register. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
The schedule for the reception is as follows (all times shown as EDT)
- 7:30 – Welcome
- 7:35 – competing demos of margarita cocktail and margarita mocktails (competing PBDD board members insist *their* recipe is the best)
- 7:45 – Speed socializing, groups of 3 people in breakout rooms
- 8:15 – group chat
Recipes
Margarita 1 (makes 2 six-ounce drinks)
Ingredients: 2 ounces of tequila, 2 ounces of slightly thawed frozen limeade concentrate, 4 ounces lemon-lime soda, 4 ounces beer, 1/2 fresh lime, salt, glasses, empty plastic water bottle (to freeze extra if you want to scale it to use a full can of beer and soda).
Instructions: Combine all liquid ingredients. Pour salt onto a plate. Squeeze lime over rim of glass. Swirl salt onto rim of glass. Pour liquid into glasses. Enjoy.
Margarita 2 (makes 2 six-ounce drinks)
Ingredients: 1/2 cup (4 ounces) cooled hibiscus tea. Almost 1/4 cup (1.5 ounces) fresh squeezed lime juice (about two limes) 1/8 – 1/4 cup (1 – 2 ounces) ‘sweet stuff’ – hibiscus syrup, agave, simple syrup, honey, 3-4 ounces ginger beer zero, 1/4 cup (2 ounces) silver tequila. Optional: lime wedge, chili lime seasoning. (All ingredients can be found at Trader Joe’s.)
Instructions: Put the tea, lime juice, sweet stuff in a shaker with 8-12 ice cubes. Shake well. Pour into one large or two medium margarita glasses. Add 3- 4 ounces ginger beer zero. Add 1/4 cup (2 ounces) silver tequila. Optional: Serve with lime wedge sprinkled with chili lime seasoning for extra kick. Enjoy.
Mocktail Margarita 3: (makes 2 three-ounce drinks):
Ingredients: 2 ounces fresh orange juice, 2 ounces slightly thawed frozen limeade concentrate, 2 ounces slightly thawed frozen lemonade concentrate, 2 drops vanilla extract, dash (or more) of chili powder, lime, salt, ice (crushed is best).
Instructions: Combine all liquid ingredients with ice. Pour salt onto a plate. Squeeze lime over rim of glass. Swirl salt onto rim of glass. Pour liquid into glasses. Enjoy.
Reflections on the past year
Well, it sure has been a year, hasn’t it? If you’re reading this, take a deep breath and congratulate yourself for surviving.
In the same way that COVID-19 has disrupted the work, health, education, social interactions, and recreation of everyone, it has brought major change to the world of digital inclusion. Agencies that provided in-person training saw that screech to a halt. The demand for digital inclusion services to our communities went through the roof. Awareness of the digital divide received a huge boost due to the number of lives impacted by stay-at-home orders and school closures.
In the midst of this turmoil, as so many organizations did, PBDD underwent a pivot. The experience papers and partner profiles were put on hold, as we scrambled to share resources and information in a rapidly changing environment. We worked with partners and organizations in our community to address the new demands amid the restrictions that were being put in place. As the year progressed, we saw the increased societal awareness of the need for digital inclusion and pitched in to help bring new programs to communities which realized the importance of such programs.
Hopefully, as we pass the one year anniversary, we are coming out the other side of the pandemic, and PBDD will be able to resume some of our previous activities, and to contribute to the newly energized and environment in which digital inclusion is receiving the attention (and in some cases, funding) to help address the critical needs.
We look forward to continuing to work with our partners in the coming year, and to seeing you in Portland in 2022 for an in-person Net Inclusion conference.
Net Inclusion Webinar Series
Due to COVID-19, Net Inclusion 2021 is once again being held on-line as a series of webinars. Each session will consist of a 60-90 minutes session, and will be held every Wednesday from April 7th through May 26th at 1 PM EDT/noon CDT/11:00am MDT/10:00 PDT/MST
The sessions be recorded for subsequent replay. The topics include:
- The Structural Racism behind Digital Inequity – April 7
- Digital Navigators: Models, Partners, Assessment, and Funding – April 14
- Coalitions and Digital Equity Planning – April 21
- Local Government and State Digital Inclusion Funding, Offices, Coordination, and Policy – April 28
- Weaving Digital Inclusion into Existing Community and Government Programs- May 5
- Partnering with Healthcare Organizations to Increase Digital Equity – May 12
- Filling the Gap – Building Subsidized & Affordable Broadband Inclusion Models – May 19
- Digital Equity Benton Awards Announcement & Current and Potential Federal Policy and Funding for Digital Inclusion – May 26
See the NDIA web page for details on the panelists and a link for registration
In addition, as noted earlier, PBDD is sponsoring an on-line reception, to be held on April 7,2021 at 7:30 pm EDT/6:30 CDT/5:30 MDT/4:30 PDT/MST. See above for details.
We hope that you can join us!
Barry, Katherine & Maryanna