Building our connected future

November 13, 2012 by Blandin Foundation Posted in Broadband

Rural leaders passionate about getting, and keeping, their communities connected to the global economy via broadband gather today, not for a webinar or livestream, but for a conference.

“Building our Connected Future: Minnesota’s Better with Broadband,” cosponsored with Connect Minnesota, opens in Duluth this afternoon, following on the heels of a half-day meeting of the Governor’s Task Force on Broadband.

After nine years of putting on this event, the Foundation’s public policy and engagement team has heard loud and clear from conference attendees how much they value getting together to discuss their communities’ triumphs and challenges in the journey to incorporate high-speed internet, and the information and services it can deliver, into the fabric of rural Minnesota.

With this in mind, the conference’s first session is a series of discussions about what conversations rural Minnesota can have today that will help catalyze effective action toward claiming a broadband-enhanced future. We anticipate inspiring, and challenging, insights from nationally acclaimed keynote speakers including Craig Settles, co-director of Communities United for Broadband, and Connected Nation’s chief policy counsel, Tom Koutsky. And, the Foundation will announce the selections for Blandin Broadband Communities.

You can check for highlights a number of places online – this IS a broadband conference, after all – including the Blandin on Broadband blog and YouTube channel, and at the #mnbb12 Twitter hashtag.