We are excited to announce that our Executive Director, Mario Camaj, will participate in a charette session at the Intelligent Communities Forum Global Summit on October 25, 2023, in New York.
A charrette is an intensive, multi-disciplinary workshop to develop a design or vision for a project or planning activity. A team of design experts meets with community groups, developers, and neighbors over a period lasting from one day to a couple of weeks, gathering information on the community's issues. Mario will participate in a workshop session titled "From Cultural Revival to Economic Opportunity: Broadband for the Eskasoni Nation," where he will participate in a panel discussion focusing on the potential of broadband networks for growth and expansion. The session will be based on the experience of a Canadian indigenous tribe in Nova Scotia that has built a tribe-owned fiber network and will explore how the Eskasoni can use this network to jumpstart economic development on the reserve. Chief Leroy Denny, the leader of the Eskasoni Nation, will kick off the session with a discussion of the goals, progress, and results of the project and the challenges and opportunities faced by the Nation. Following his presentation, Camaj will join other industry leaders to speak about the potential of broadband networks and how to target expansion opportunities. Attendees will then move into a working sessions where they will brainstorm new opportunities and solutions - education, training, business startup, and employment growth - enabled through the broadband network.
"I'm excited to participate in the ICF Global Forum and especially to be part of the session on opportunities for the Eskasoni Nation," said Camaj. "VCTI is committed to helping bridge the digital divide, and our First Nations are among the communities most in need of support and collaboration to bring this essential technology to all members. I look forward to the discussion."
Starting in 2000 with a research project comparing cities in various nations, ICF created a unique, data-driven approach to development that puts citizens first while tapping technology's enormous economic and social potential. Economic growth today takes much more than decent infrastructure and available land for development. It requires a "whole growth" approach that unites people, policies, programs, and technology.
In a world dominated by digital, our mission is to help communities create innovative and growing economies, inclusive societies, and affirming cultures open to the world. We do it for communities large and small, in urban clusters and outlying suburbs and rural places. We believe that digital connectivity and technology create the opportunity for almost every community to develop a dynamic local economy and the social and cultural strengths that go with it – giving them all a chance to be great places to live, work, learn, grow, raise a family and prepare a path for the next generation.