DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY AWARD

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1 DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY AWARD The Digital Opportunity Award will be given to individuals, academic institutions, corporations, NGOs or government entities that have made a remarkable and successful effort at reducing the digital divide, but connecting previously unconnected people. Awards can be given on the basis of, for example, programs that help facilitate the deployment of information technology and use of Internet among inner city population segments, or in towns, rural areas or cities in developing and least-developed countries. This award is an all-inclusive category that would provide WITSA member associations with maximum independence in nominating suitable candidates. However, it will be necessary to demonstrate: - - effectiveness of the programs, - - number of people benefiting from the deployment of technology - - degree of the program(s) technology intensiveness - - level of innovation demonstrated in achieving the program(s) goals. YOUR NOMINEE(S): HP Digital Village Program Communities For this award, Hewlett-Packard Company is submitting one nomination for all three of the Digital Villages under the HP Digital Village Program: the East Palo Alto Digital Village, Baltimore s Digital Village, and the Digital Tribal Village. The HP Digital Village Program combines technology, brainpower and collaborative energy to help underserved communities invent and realize their own visions for the future. It is part of HP s broader efforts to bridge the digital divide through e-inclusion, a vision of the future where all people have access to the social and economic opportunities of the digital age. The HP Digital Village Program builds on the experiences and insights HP has gained through 60 years of community service and sets a new standard for how HP and other companies contribute to their communities through its holistic and participatory approach. The HP Digital Village Program is about listening to communities, working with them to define priorities, and then applying HP technology, consulting and volunteers to address those issues in substantive and sustainable ways. Each Digital Village will receive approximately $5 million worth of HP products, services, consulting and social venture capital over three years to implement their technology partnerships with community partners, among them schools and universities, local government, community services, churches, nonprofits and small businesses. A dedicated HP executive is assigned to each of the Digital Villages. East Palo Alto was launched in November 2000 as the inaugural Digital Village. The two other Digital Villages Baltimore s Digital Village and the Tribal Digital Village -- were selected from 210 proposals from communities in 46 states and were announced in February Each proposal was evaluated based upon the community s vision for development, the strength and stability of partnerships, and the community s capacity to execute and sustain the vision and plan.

2 East Palo Alto Digital Village Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, East Palo Alto is an urban community with a population of some 25,000, 36 percent of whom are children. Vision: Informed, Connected, Empowered Plan: Create a technological infrastructure for access, learning, collaboration and outreach, and economic development Solutions: Technology partnerships include: - K-12 programs, including one-to-one e-learning and scholarships - Assistance for small businesses in using the Web to manage and market their businesses - Community portal for collaboration and e-commerce transactions - Support for expansion and/or development of community technology centers and training academies Baltimore s Digital Village An inner-city community, the East Baltimore Empowerment Zone has a population of 36,000, 40 percent of whom live below the poverty line. Vision: e-living culture -- technology for everyone, for learning, working and playing Plan: Create a digital community in which technology expands collaboration and entrepreneurial opportunities Solutions: Use technology as a jumping board: - Linking providers and participants - Supporting learning for youths and adults - Strengthening and connecting community organizations and businesses - Enhancing community services delivery - Tribal Digital Village The Southern California Tribal Community is a wide-ranging, rural community of 17 Native American reservations stretching from the Mexican border to northern San Diego County. Unemployment is at 50 percent. Vision: Wireless access to connect 17 scattered tribes to each other and to the Internet

3 Plan: Create a distributed digital community by building high-speed broadband connections providing access to urban and educational resources. Solutions: Wireless technology to: - Provide cultural and kinship bridges - Share cultural knowledge and resources - Open door to opportunities for expanding education, training and business REASONS FOR NOMINATION (please justify why you think your candidate is qualified): HP is nominating the three Digital Villages because they are all trailblazers in realizing their own vision of a technology-powered revitalized community. They are defining and fulfilling in their own ways a replicable development plan that harnesses technology for sustainable community growth, cohesiveness and optimism, and brings all of us closer to a future in which all people have access to the benefits and opportunities of the digital age. Digital Village Program Achievements "If you are a dreamer, come in!" This greeting - painted on the wooden trailer that houses Plugged In, a small but vibrant community technology center in East Palo Alto, California - could serve as the welcoming mantra for all of Silicon Valley. Long an area plagued by economic troubles, East Palo Alto is home to its own set of dreamers: community leaders who are determined to bridge the economic and digital chasm that separates the people of East Palo Alto from their affluent Silicon Valley neighbors. But today these people are doing much more than dreaming. They're taking action. And HP is helping. In April 2000, during a much-publicized visit to East Palo Alto by President Bill Clinton to address the growing digital divide, HP CEO Carly Fiorina pledged to help bring the "tools for learning and competing" in the digital age to those people who need them most. As part of this pledge, she announced that East Palo Alto would be the kick-off site for HP's new Digital Village program, a $15 million philanthropic venture that uses HP technology, solutions and consulting services to help underserved communities address their most pressing social and economic needs. A lot has happened since that announcement. Though the economy has slipped into a tailspin, HP has moved ahead and assigned an executive on loan, Janiece Evans-Page, from HP Philanthropy and Education, to work with the East Palo Alto community fulltime. HP has also chosen two more communities to participate in the Digital Village

4 program: the East Baltimore Empowerment Zone and the Southern California Tribal Community. Each of the Digital Village communities will receive $5 million in HP products, services and consulting (including the help of a full-time executive) over three years. Why continue to donate large sums of money in the current economic climate? Philanthropy has long been a part of HP's philosophy, since its first year in existence when it donated $5 to the Salvation Army. "We take our commitments and social investments very seriously," says Bess Stephens, director of HP philanthropy and education. "We set aside resources when we are doing extremely well in order to be able to honor our commitments when things are not going as well." "This work is incredibly rewarding," adds Evans-Page, who is helping to manage HP's investment in East Palo Alto. "I'm getting paid for what is my passion in life." Partnering for Change Rather than simply donating money and computers, HP is actively partnering with the Digital Village participants to help their community leaders identify and create sustainable game plans. HP executives and community leaders in East Palo Alto held a workshop in December 2000 and drew up a detailed blueprint for addressing what they believe are the most critical needs: education, economic development, community outreach and collaboration. One solution is to use technology to improve the educational opportunities for lowincome and minority students. "Helping young people become eligible for high-quality jobs and high-quality lives has been a key backbone of all our philanthropic programs," says Stephens. "This is critical to the success of every community and every business." Despite their proximity to Silicon Valley, students in East Palo Alto have not benefited from the same access to computers or the Internet that their peers enjoy in most California communities. According to the California Department of Education, there is one computer for every 28 students in East Palo Alto schools, while the California state average is one computer for every nine students. HP is trying to close this gap with the one-to-one e-learning program. As part of the program, HP is providing East Palo Alto's Belle Haven Elementary School with HP laptop computers for every teacher and student in grades 4 through 8. Working with NetSchools, a company that develops Internet-based learning programs, Belle Haven will fully integrate the computers and the Internet into classroom lessons and homework assignments. "We are going to be narrowing the digital divide," says Belle Haven Principal Ellen Spencer. "Finally, our students will be like other students who have access to computers all the time." Because students will be able to bring their laptops home, their

5 parents will also be able to use the computer and Internet to communicate with teachers and to increase their own learning. "These computers will be a tool for the whole family," Spencer says. It's not just students and their families who will have better access to technology. The East Palo Alto community has opted to dedicate $1 million of its Digital Village funds to help Plugged In expand into a new building. "This will allow us to at least double the number of people we are able to serve," says Magda Escobar, Plugged In's executive director. "We want to build a sustainable technological infrastructure for East Palo Alto and a critical mass of hardcore technology enthusiasts who inspire others to get involved and play a role in community revitalization." Spurring economic development HP and East Palo Alto community leaders have also launched the Small Business Development Initiative (SBDI), a project designed to help small local businesses contribute to the community's economic development. Managing this effort is Start Up, a nonprofit organization that provides entrepreneurship training, technical assistance, financial support and referrals for pro-bono legal assistance to low-income East Palo Alto and East Menlo Park aspiring small businesses. "We want to bring more jobs to East Palo Alto and give people more reasons to spend their money here in the community," says Faye McNair-Knox, executive director of Start Up. Since 1994, 301 individuals have graduated from Start Up's training program. Of these, more than 88 have launched or expanded their own business in East Palo Alto and surrounding areas. In addition to supporting local entrepreneurs, community leaders also want to provide more job training and quality employment opportunities for East Palo Alto adults. For this reason, Digital Village funds will also go to support a new community academy in East Palo Alto that will house OICW (Opportunities Industrialization Center West), a nonprofit training organization, and other local nonprofits. Once the academy is built, OICW will be able to train, certify and find high-tech jobs for more East Palo Alto residents. The Digital Village program "gives us the resources to develop our community's own resources: the people who want to learn and succeed in high-tech careers," says David Medina, director of training and information technology at OICW. "It's allowing us to contribute to - and benefit from - the Silicon Valley economy." Buying into a vision Because HP works so closely with its Digital Village recipients, the company took great care to choose the communities it would partner with through the program. HP opted to work with East Palo Alto in part because of its geographic proximity to the company's headquarters. "We've had a long-standing relationship with East Palo Alto," says Camilla Nelson, Digital Village program manager. "And it made sense to begin bridging the digital divide that existed in our own back yard."

6 The East Baltimore Empowerment Zone and the Southern California Tribal Association were also selected based on their ability to execute on their proposed community development plans. Jack Ward, director of human resources and support services for the Southern California Tribal Association, says, "I see the [Digital Village] program creating a lasting legacy. I believe a lot of positive things can happen to a community when it has access to technology and the Internet." HP thinks so, too. "We are heeding Carly's admonishment to not shy away from working on difficult challenges," Bess Stephens says. "We are trying to contribute in such a way that we create sustainable results that will continue to make a difference in the lives of people long after this particular HP initiative has ended." This willingness to partner with a community to create sustainable solutions to challenging social and economic issues has been a part of HP's philanthropic philosophy for more than 60 years. And, according to one East Palo Alto community leader, it's what sets the company's efforts apart from other corporate philanthropic ventures. "A lot of companies have jumped on the digital divide bandwagon," Plugged In's Escobar says. "But HP has been quietly leading this charge for a long time." The above is an article by Carlotta Mast, posted on Baltimore s Digital Village The Baltimore s Digital Village encompasses a geography covering the East Baltimore Empowerment Zone. It comprises several community organizations, including the Historic East Baltimore Community Action Coalition and the East Harbor Village Center. These groups assembled to form a partnership with the government organizations, the Baltimore City Public Schools and Morgan State University, with non-profit organization Maryland Center for Arts and Technology as the lead organization. A unique support system exists within the Baltimore Digital Village geography and extends into the greater Baltimore community. It includes large employers such as Johns Hopkins University and linkages to the Mayor s overall technology plan for the Digital Harbor. Foundations, corporations and small business have been an integral part of the success of technology in the Baltimore City area. The Baltimore Digital Village proposal focuses on a vision of e-living in the Digital Village community that will utilize technology to support workforce development, community and housing development, and educational opportunities for all ages. This effort is supported through infrastructure that exists in government services as well as through policy direction.

7 Technology has already contributed to job opportunities and skills development in the East Baltimore Empowerment Zone through organizations such as The Gate, which provide skills development training, and the Maryland Center for the Arts and Technology, which focuses on technology expertise and internships in finance, manufacturing and health care. Relationships exist with local businesses to provide internships and jobs upon completion of the technology training. The Baltimore s Digital Village executive team has shown its leadership in the early stages of their selection and has focused its initial projects on education and afterschool programs. Several Launch-and-Learn projects are starting at two local afterschool care providers, and provide technology solutions including equipment, training, and maintenance for the centers. Projects are also under way at the Historic East Baltimore Community Action Coalition to improve administrative productivity through technology and to increase productivity among public school administration as well. Tribal Digital Village Key to realizing the vision of the Southern California Tribal Community is collaboration between the Southern California Tribal Chairmen s Association (SCTCA), UC San Diego and HP under the umbrella of the Tribal Digital Village. The three partners are working to create a unique environment where businesses and non-profit and educational entities are leveraging their programs and competencies to create unique solutions tailored to the community's needs. Other companies, educational institutions and NGOs will also be drawn into the program to leverage their expertise in enhancing these solutions. Even in their start-up phase, the Southern California Tribal Community has demonstrated significant involvement and achievement. The majority of the tribes have assigned a tribal representative to work with the start-up team to determine needs, priorities and solutions. A tribal decision-making process for deploying technology and services is being put in place. The key areas of focus are: Internet infrastructure, education, cultural preservation, and community and economic development. A Summer Youth Academy was put together to get the tribal youth involved in the program while providing education and training on GPS systems, surveying, mapping and Web-based reporting. The young people have gathered coordinates for the deployment of antennas that would create a wireless network for the community. HPWREN (High Performance Wireless Research and Education Network) program at the San Diego Super-Computer Center (SDSC) is providing the technology for this interconnection. HP is providing strategic planning and technical resources to create this network and Web-based services to be offered through the TribalDigitalVillage.net community portal web site.

8 SUPPORTING INFORMATION: Please send any supporting information to the address above, including information from candidate (i.e. excerpt from program description, web site print-out, press release, etc.) Attached: - Winning proposal of the East Baltimore Empowerment Zone and of the Southern California Tribal Community - News articles and press releases - HP Digital Village backgrounder