Tech: Google Fiber Starts New Fellowship

Cary, NC — On May 21, 2015, Google Fiber and the Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN) launched the first-ever Digital Inclusion Fellowship, an initiative to get more Americans online.

Google Fiber’s Digital Inclusion Fellowship

The fellowship will pair 16 people with local community organizations in the eight Google Fiber metro areas–including the Triangle–where they’ll spend a year building a digital inclusion program “from the ground up” by performing tasks like:

• Showing adults how to take their GEDs online
• Helping job-seekers learn digital workplace skills
• Teaching parents how to access their children’s grades online

Community organizations in the Triangle that are assisting with this project include the Kramden Institute and the Triangle Literacy Council. Google Fiber will contribute approximately $1 million over the course of the fellowship to cover salaries and benefits for fellows and stipends to fund the new new digital inclusion programs in each area.

60 Million Americans without Internet

The internet gives individuals the ability to apply for jobs, communicate with people from around the world, find affordable housing and sign-up for healthcare  at their fingertips. Despite this, a surprising number of 60 million Americans don’t use the internet at home.

This new fellowship will help organizations get more people online in their respective communities. In Raleigh-Durham, for example, the Triangle Literacy Council will use the fellow to create a mobile computing lab that will travel to libraries, community centers, jails, and schools to teach people important, basic online tasks, like sending emails or finding health clinics.

Apply to Help

If you’re passionate about access to the Internet and want to unlock new opportunities for residents in your community, apply at nten.org/community/dif now through June 10, 2015.

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Story from staff reports. Photo by Official GDC.