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*Half the World: Offline Internet International Consortium

Home / Topics / Access & Equity / *Half the World: Offline Internet International Consortium

March 8, 2021

James O’Donnell
University Librarian
Arizona State Universtiy

Ann Okerson
Offline Internet Consortium (OLI) Steering Committee

Half the world’s population has no broadband, while many more have limited access (bad data plans, bad politicians, bad socioeconomic conditions, emergency situations [post-disaster, post-conflict]). The Offline Internet Consortium began with an international summit at Arizona State University in January 2018 and now counts some thirty organizations and continues to grow. The fundamental insight is that in many circumstances, networked information delivered in non-networked ways can be a powerful force for social welfare and development. Very small solar-powered servers can go anywhere—e.g., in the hands of Peace Corps volunteers in Micronesia. Creative use of TV white space or satellite downloads can circumvent censorship and political black spots. The project briefing will describe some of the basic tools, report on successes and ambitions, and help attendees understand whether they or colleagues would have an interest in participating.

https://www.ofline-internet.org
https://www.librarieswithoutborders.us/
https://solarspell.org/
(many more are linked from the Offline Internet URL)

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Filed Under: Access & Equity, CNI Spring 2021 Project Briefing, Project Briefing Pages
Tagged With: cni2021spring, Project Briefings & Plenary Sessions, Videos

Last updated:  Monday, October 11th, 2021

 

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