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Growing the Internet 8 April 2020

Indigenous Connectivity Summit Policy Recommendations: Helping Policymakers Make Inclusive Decisions

By Mark BuellFormer Regional Vice President - North America

As billions of us move into self-isolation, one thing is crystal clear: Internet access is critical. If anyone of us took it for granted before, COVID-19 has changed everything and rocketed the world into a new era. So it’s even more critical we build an Internet for everyone.

But we’ll only get there if we bring more diversity to the table when it comes to building infrastructure, developing sound policy, and creating the communities needed.

A lot of our work involves bringing people together. Network operators, policymakers, advocates, community members, and more. That’s because the Internet is built by people, and new ways to bring infrastructure to the world only come from what can happen when people come together.

In 2019, the Internet Society held the third annual Indigenous Connectivity Summit (ICS) in Hilo, Hawai’i.

Among the delegates were five Indigenous advocates from across North America who trained to become 2019 Indigenous Connectivity Summit Policy Advisors.

Based on conversation and outcomes from the Summit, they developed a set of recommendations to help policymakers in the United States and Canada make more inclusive decisions. These recommendations build on those developed at the previous Summits in Santa Fe, New Mexico and Inuvik, Northwest Territories.

These recommendations were then discussed and agreed on by everyone at the 2019 Indigenous Connectivity Summit. Collaboration at its best.

We would like your help on getting them out. Please help make your local policymakers aware they’re out there. Share them on social media, raise them in meetings, include them in reports, and more:

2019 Indigenous Connectivity Summit Policy Recommendations

You can also find the full report from the 2019 Summit here, detailing the sessions and conversations held over the two-day event.


Group photo of the Pu’uhonua O Waimanalo Internet Society training session on Oahu © Elyse Butler

Disclaimer: Viewpoints expressed in this post are those of the author and may or may not reflect official Internet Society positions.

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