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The Partnership for Internet Equity
and Community Engagement (PIECE) brings together
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community network specialists from the Plugged In community technology
center and other organizations in East Palo Alto and east
Menlo Park (collectively known as "greater East Palo Alto"),
California,
with
The goals of the partnership are
- to
enhance the effectiveness of the East Palo Alto Community Network
for promoting community involvement and for addressing the collective
and individual needs of greater East Palo Alto residents;
- to
ensure a robust user base for the community network's web
portal EPA.net and the Technology
Access Points;
- to close
gaps in Internet access, technology control/ownership, and
computer usage ("digital divides") that exist between and
within different populations in greater East Palo Alto;
- to
facilitate uses of the Internet that empower disadvantaged
residents to gain more of a voice in community decision
making;
and
- to learn
through the experience of reaching for these goals, sharing
what we learn with the greater East Palo Alto community,
with other communities, and with academic researchers.
The work of PIECE began in January, 2002, funded by a
Public Scholarship Initiative grant to the Symbolic Systems Program from the Vice Provost for
Undergraduate Education. The grant is
administered through the Haas
Center for Public Service at Stanford. The East Palo Alto
Community Network launched in September, 2002, funded by the HP Digital Village
Program and the NTIA
Technology Opportunities Program, with software donated by Microsoft. Together with the work
of many residents and organizations involved in the East
Palo Alto Digital Village and One East Palo Alto
initatives, the City
of East Palo Alto and the City of Palo Alto, we view
this partnership as one piece
of a broad based community development and social/environmental justice
effort in East Palo Alto.
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