About
WHO WE ARE
Our Vision & Mission
The American Digital Diversity Initiative represents a national movement of diverse community leaders and tech professionals dedicated to working with people from economically challenged and other disadvantaged communities to ensure they can utilize the technology we all have come to rely upon to economically advance their own communities and improve their lives.
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WHY ARE WE HERE
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A Technological Nation
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Technology has transformed almost every facet of our lives. There is no part of our daily routine that is not somehow dependent upon technology. It has also dramatically changed the structures we rely on — information and entertainment, transportation, our economy and education — to name only a few. Even more dramatic changes are on the way through rapidly advancing technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Virtual and Augmented Reality.
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Yet somehow many of these amazing advances have escaped many in our society.
The Digital Divide seems only to grow larger. According to a recent Pew Survey:
Two-thirds of adults living in high-earning households have home broadband services, a smartphone, a desktop or laptop computer and a tablet, compared with 17 percent of those living in low-income households.
And when it comes to their ability to use technology, lower-income Americans are more than twice as likely as those in other income groups to be classified as digitally unprepared.
Computer Science drives innovation and our economy – yet:
Only 35 states allow students to count computer science courses towards high school education.
There will be an estimated one million more computing jobs than applicants who can fill them by 2020, projects Code.org, based on estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on job creation and separately, estimates of college graduation rates by the National Science Foundation.
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According to an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission report, just 8 percent of tech-sector jobs are held by Hispanics and 7.4 percent by African-Americans.
TOGETHER WE WILL GO FURTHER
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The American Digital Diversity Initiative is dedicated to educating community leaders, policymakers and other important influencers about the critical importance of universal digital access, education and skills divides that are leaving millions of Americans in virtual darkness.
The American Digital Diversity Initiative will also provide technical and hands-on support to effective training programs for people of color, women, military veterans, LGBTQA+ and all other individuals from communities that are currently outside or in the shadows of our thriving innovation and tech economy.