It can be challenging to convey the concept of digital equity to those in positions of power, especially politicians, as they are often faced with a multitude of complex issues to tackle. The DECA community has a unique understanding of the digital equity challenges that people face everyday.
DECA was born as a result of a crisis, Covid had struck Aotearoa and our nation went into lockdown for many weeks. Ākonga (learners) found themselves home trying to learn without devices or adequate internet connections, senior citizens and those with disabilities were left alone with limited forms of connectivity to get support or access to their wider communities, early in the pandemic Covid patients were left unmonitored due to limited access to technology - the list of challenges was vast.
Our approach back then was to lobby government to invest in priority areas, these priorities were identified through a series of hui and collaboration via a collaborative document, with consensus reached across over 65 organisations working in the digital equity space resulting in the 5 Point Plan for Digital Inclusion: Covid-19 and beyond.
https://internetnz.nz/policy/the-five-point-plan-for-digital-inclusion-covid-19-and-beyond/
The DECA community find ourselves rallying in a crisis again, supporting communities who have been hit by the cyclone. In this, an election year, it is more critical than ever those communities voices can be heard by politicians and decision makers alike.
For this reason we are getting back to basics, DECA was formed to provide a healthy backbone and shine a light on those working in the digital equity space. In order to convey the messages that political parties need to hear, we intend to hold a series of hui, where participants can divide into smaller groups to focus on specific topics and work together using a shared document. We will then use these insights on each subject to create clear and simple explanatory documents. To aid in this process, we will seek out paid experts with specialized knowledge on particular subjects from within the DECA community.
We hope you can join us for this series - the first topic will be on resilience in the telecommunications space for remote communities, if we put our minds together we can surface creative, management solutions government can swing behind and fund.
Details will be sent out very soon, please make sure you're getting our newsletters by subscribing at the bottom of the DECA website.