Online job applications. The city of boston is working to tackle this issue. They call it tech equity. Making sure all residents have equal access to innovation and the internet. It has been said all you need to start a business is an idea. But starting a business isnt that simple. Without access to idea is just that. The reason why technology is so important is because this is the way people are doing business. If you intend to correspond in any way, this is how you are going to do it. It does not make any sense for someone to tell you, this is how we are doing business in jargon internet is to our everyday lives. If you are an adult, you probably use it every day at work or even to find a job. In boston, the city of so much innovation, one in five families does not have access to the internet. Thats a huge number when you think about it. 20 percent of ourse fundamentally important way to get connected. This is the city of bostons chief technology officer. He is tackling the problem of Digital Equity, making sure all residents have equal access to the internet. Making sure people who are students can use Digital Learning tools. That people who are looking for that everyone gets the chance to learn the Digital Skills that are so important for so many different aspects of life in 2016. Right finding a job. Like finding a job. You cant even apply to work for the city of boston without a computer. There are plenty of resources for extra help in school online. Those without computers may have portable devices. Cut it when it comes to real learning. May be that student gets to the sixth or seventh grade. Her parents get her a prepaid smartphone. That is better than not having any tools. She is going to be trying to navigate website built for Desktop Computers on a tiny screen. If she wants to watch video she has to worry about running out of data. In terms of having literacy and access to the same educational opportunities. When it comes to bridging the Digital Divide in boston and massachusetts, there are unique challenges. Until recently most City Residents had just one option when selecting an internet provider. Little to no competition is good for internet providers but bad for customers, who end up paying higher rates. Highspeed internet. 10 more than the national average. What is the city trying to do to address Digital Equity . We are trying to bring more competition in the marketplace to boston. Today 90 of residents have only one choice when it comes to broadband. We worked with verizon and they recently announced they will be building a Fiber Network in the city. Going to be expanding their service options. We want a place where companies have to compete for business. We offer free wifi in the boston public libraries. We are expanding to community centers. Our Free Wifi Program is expanding in neighborhoods as well. The boston public another place that has done a lot of work around digital equities. We are really thinking about this as a holistic challenge. We need to address skills gaps. Help make conductivity more available. Think about ways to get access to discounted equipment. That. It teaches residents computer skills. Graduates of their program are able to purchase a lowcost chrome book computer. Its just heartwarming. You get the sense that being part of this program connected them more closely to their childs education and opportunities they didnt realize were out there. It helps you reflect on the need we still have in this community. Able to keep up. We have a responsibility to help them. Graduates of the Small Business course of their new skills and computers are the right tools to turn ideas into real businesses. These women are on fire. Look for us. In roxbury bringing digita . Sleep number beds with Sleepiq Technology give you the knowledge to adjust for the best sleep ever. The time is now for the biggest sale of the year, where all beds are on sale save 50 on the labor Day Limited Edition bed. Karen welcome back. As you saw, tech goesom working to give residents access to the internet and computers. Rick is an Innovation Hub offering to help Small Businesses with websites and networking. There are even opportunities for the youngest neighborhood residents to get a taste of innovation. The Roxbury Innovation Center believes if people see they can see innovation in themselves. Digital equity means ensuring the same access to technology throughout the city. That also means access to innovation resources. That is where the Roxbury Innovation Center comes in. Located in the heart of dudley square. Innovation centers are really important in communities. Director Alessandra Brown is the director. We assist with the development of roxbury through innovation. If you are looking for financial counseling we more than likely have classes coming up. And business planning. Workshops around those goals. When it comes to our students its really helping them develop more skills for the future workforce. Families who come in, their students can design an item to be 3d printed. This is a 3d printer that anyone who participates in activities can use. Yes. One things about this is while it is printing the top facing window can be opened for android users. You can watch your print. Is that beneficial to people who come here to learn . Its great for us to be able to project whats going on. Like mia shaw are designing keychains and watching their 2d creations emerge in 3d. My mom told me there is a thing in Roxbury Innovation Center here. I liked how it looks and the people in it. Do you want to work with Computers Monday . I want to do designs. What impact do you hope this Innovation Center has on roxbury and the city as a whole . Help the Computer Community understand technology is not something to be afraid of. There are lots of resources willing to help you get an understanding of technology and an entrepreneur and still make a living. With rising costs of living you dont need to always feel pressured to move out of where you are. We are hoping to give you additional skills and help you really plan for that. Two women keeping innovation in roxbury, Melissa James and rica elize. It started wanting to figure out how to do my hair. Today she knows where to go to find someone to create her current hairstyle. When she first got involved in the Meetup Group Boston natural, she found a lot of africanamerican women had a hard time finding stylists. That is when the idea of beauty link came together. Practice their artistry and the women could get the looks they desired. Beauty link began with africanamerican women in mind but women of all backgrounds use its services. Since launching last year the site has booked more than 600 appointments. Stylists come to your office, home, wherever you need them. When it comes to women in the workplace some they dont know when their next day off is. Just have it convenient. We also work with moms. They love that they dont have to leave the house to get the service. I want women to remember the way they feel when they are beautiful. I am curious to learn about your background. One of the women using the services, the busy ceo of the job at a fortune 500 company. Today she couldnt be happier with her choice. You have to decide, what are the Growth Opportunities you are seeing and what that would actually look like for you. I had to think about how i would want to grow in the next five years. Is this the impact i want to have . Is this the type of lifestyle i want to live . About social impact businesses at harvard. They gave me this as a thank you gift. I gave it to my mom. She was like, did you volunteer . I said actually, i spoke there. They invited me as a speaker. She said, this is exactly what we lived for. My parents sacrificed a lot. Their dream of be able to provide better opportunities. Karen another entrepreneur in roxbury. Her organization at the Center Community is working to create a more connected boston. Heres the story in her words. . I think my story starts with bill lassouz meeting ellen lebronneau. There is so much awesome racial mixing in hawaii. This is where someone with black, puerto rican heritage selfdetermination around identity is something that affects me deeply. Being someone that is multiracial. My first activation came around the sovereignty issue in hawaii. My First Political training came at the Leadership Institute which is a very conservative republican training they did tactics that you could use to bring people together and get them to do something to make change. I wanted to come back to boston and Start Building models that have the organization and organizers take on the responsibility for impact. Thats how you want to build movements. They are decentralized. M. I. T. And experimenting locally i am on my first project around the centralized structures. We bring over 10,000 people together every year at different events. We take over the museum of fine arts. We had graffiti artists doing graffiti in the courtyard. We have fashion designers. We bring people together. There is about Building Social justice. EpiCenter Community is my next step. This stuff works. If you give people a way to create civic space they will do it. What the future holds for these types of models and for me and my community is actually getting it done. Lets just find each others humanity. Lets love to be together. Being that facilitator, connector, catalyst is what the future holds for me. Karen next, we hear from two karen welcome back. We are discussing tech equity today and local efforts to increase connectivity and access in the city. Joining me today is dan noyes princ and prince charles. Lets get more information on nonprofit. We think its incredibly important that everyone has access to the tools and resources to succeed in all aspects of life. We run courses all throughout the city. We target people 3 to 93. They take a 15 hour is all about internet skills. How to email, how to find a job online, access city resources. At the end of the 15 hours we try to help them get internet access. They have the option to purchase a brandnew computer for 50. That is often the incentive that gets people in the room. We find at the end it is not what people take away. Parents report the best thing is being able to spend time with their children. It is about a lot more than technology. Karen dan has just talked about how essential it is for children to have access to computers. How important is it for parents and older people . Guest parents need to know technology. We find it is very important for the parents and kids to know. Kids are 100 advanced in technology more than their parents. Karen thats right. Guest in our programs we always have the kids teaching the parents. It makes it a smooth process on my hand. End. I like to make sure the parents are aware how to advance their job skills. Emailing, being able to chat karen once you figure out how to use it as a tool you can really make your life much easier. Guest yes. Parents learn the fundamentals to better their future. Karen you also offer computer courses for Small Business owners. Doing this for years without a computer, why do i need this now . Guest we had a small graduation not that long ago. It was all women who run very small day cares. 46 kids. A woman got up and said she had been doing this for more than 30 years and she had never done any sort of online budget before. Assista nts pay raises and holiday bonuses. Karen because she was able to realize some savings in her budget . Guest yes. She was able to save money and give her staff what they probably deserved. I think it is almost impossible now if you are either a Small Business or nonprofit of any sort to compete in this world unless you are online. Business courses in some homeless shelters in the city. There is one in particular that has an arts program where they can sell their art at trade shows. We say, how about you sell them on etsy as well . Karen you mentioned the computers are available to some families for 50. How do you pay for the internet . We are not an Internet Service provider. There are a number of discounted options out there. Comcast has something called internet essentials for families and seniors in boston. Anyone who receives any sort of Public Housing or assistance. 10 a month. Wireless connection. It is not the best. I wish there were more options. Im happy verizon is going to expand. Expand. We dont need two or three. We need 10 or 15. Karen people can connect with that information through tech goes home. Guest correct. On our website we have something called tgh connect. It will show you some options. Not everyone is going to qualify. High quality discounted internet. Karen quick Success Story for you. Guest we had a couple of entrepreneur ladies in our class that wanted to start their own business in massachusetts. They had all the Business Plans and goals and everything. They had to work more on their social media aspect. We had a lady who sells green tea to local businesses. We have a that is about to open. Through the class they were able to freshen up what they already know and help their business. Karen thanks for being here. You can learn more about everyone that was featured on todays program by logging onto our cityline page at wcvb. Com. Tank for watching everyone. Have a great rest of your day. And take care. . 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