PRESS RELEASE

TELECOMMUNITIES CANADA CONFERENCE IN HALIFAX, AUGUST 15-18, 1997

Speakers and delegates from around the world will share their expertise, knowledge and visions for the future of Community Networks at the upcoming Telecommunities Canada Conference (TC'97) hosted by the Chebucto Community Net (CCN), in Halifax, August 15-18, 1997.

In the past several years, thousands of community nets have been established throughout the world and CCN was one of the first. These grassroots organizations will change and grow over the next few years and present new challenges and directions. This conference will examing these changes through its theme, "Partnerships".

The CCN is a non-profit organization that provides electronic communication access to the Halifax Regional Municipality. It is available in both English and French. Its volunteers also developed the software CSuite used in developing community nets. CSuite is being used throughout Canada and beyond.

"Community Access is growing daily," says Vice-Chair of CCN, David Trueman, "and delegates and speakers at this conference will help us to understand our challenges and directions for the future. We expect our 50 Community Access Sites (CAP) to expand both in number and in services offered as a result of this conference."

Keynote speakers at TC'97 include:

• Ed Schwartz is a leading neighborhood activist, Philadelphia city councillor and housing commissioner. His recent book Net Activism: How Citizens Use the Internet examines how the net enriches community life and can promote citizen activism.

• Cynthia Alexander, professor of political science at Acadia University is a frequent guest on local and national media. She is co-editing a book dealing with the implications of electronic communications for the political process.

• Doug Schuler is a pioneer of the community networking movement and founder of the Seattle Community Net. His 1996 book New Community Networks: Wired For Change addresses the combination of social activism and technology development.

On each of the four days, speakers from across Canada, the US and even Africa gather together to share their ideas for the future of community nets. Among the concurrent speakers

Graham Hayman of Grahamstown, South Africa who speaks about setting up community media networks for education and development;

Doug Isaak of Churchill talks about getting remote communities on line via Satellite systems;

Sue Beckwith of Austin, Texas, speaks about the Austin Free-Net: Partnerships at Street Level;

Christophe Bonnal and Aubrey Cormier speak about the use of information and communication as tools to narrow the gap between the Canadian Francophone communities;

and Successful Community Network Partnerships is the subject of the presentation by Stephen T. Bajjaly of the University of South Carolina and James McClelland, Libraries For the Future, New York City.

Delegates to the conference will have the chance to attend workshops to learn how to develop CAP Sites and New Community Nets and also learn how to use the CSuite software.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT TC'97, VISIT THIS SITE: http://chebucto.ns.ca/tc97

David Trueman
CCN Vice Chair
Phone: 902-425-6234
Email: david@chebucto.ns.ca 

Tara Dunn
CCN Public Relations Coordinator
Phone: 902-494-2449
Fax: 902-494-1242
Email: au908@chebucto.ns.ca
       
Joan Waldron
Chair Communication Committee
Phone: 902-477-4273 
Email:  an080@chebucto.ns.ca

Bernie Hart
Chair TC'97 Planning Committee
Phone: 434-1900/429-7729
Email: nstn2380@fox.nstn.ns.ca