Government

ZeroDivide works with federal, state and local governments to strengthen program and service delivery, with special expertise on working with historically underserved populations.

Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP)

As part of the Federal Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), we are in the implementation stage of two programs focused on broadband adoption:

Generation ZD - Youth Media Initiative (AZ, CA, HI, NM, OR, UT, WA)
Tribal Digital Village Broadband Adoption Program (CA)

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) with $7.2 billion to expand access to broadband services in the United States. Of those funds, the Act provided $4.7 billion to NTIA to support the deployment of broadband infrastructure, enhance and expand public computer centers, encourage sustainable adoption of broadband service, and develop and maintain a nationwide public map of broadband service capability and availability. ZeroDivide was awarded $2,070,399 in two grants from the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

Generation ZeroDivide (Gen ZD)

2011 BTOP Convening

ZeroDivide is creating a new generation of youth technology users within underserved communities in California, Hawaii, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Washington states.

The “Generation ZD Digital Literacy Program” targets low-income, minority, disabled, and otherwise underserved youth between the ages of 5-25, who have limited or no access to digital and information technology in the home. These young people will be served through a three-prong approach of a digital literacy skills curriculum; an online content creation and distribution program; and capacity-building and sustainability efforts at community anchor institutions within each participant state.

Working in partnership with 7 community anchor institutions across 6 western states, ZeroDivide will train new broadband users, build replicable best practices digital media curricula, and provide technical assistance and capacity-building support.

The Community Anchor Institutions are Access Humboldt, CA; Akaku: Maui Community Television, HI; Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Fe, NM; Community Media Access Partnership (CMAP), CA; Portland Community Media, OR; Reel Grrls, WA; and Spy Hop Productions, UT. They will be supported in disability accessibility work by the Alliance for Technology Access.

Access Humboldt is a nonprofit, community based, public service media organization formed in 2006 to manage local cable franchise benefits on behalf of the County of Humboldt, California and the Cities of Eureka, Arcata, Fortuna, Rio Dell, Ferndale and Blue Lake.

Community media resources of Access Humboldt include: cable access TV channels; a planned wide area broadband network with dedicated optic fiber connections to twenty locations serving local jurisdictions, educational institutions and other public facilities; broadband access wireless networks; a Community Media Center with studio and other production facilities at Eureka High School; and ongoing operational support for public, educational and governmental access media services from franchised cable operator, Suddenlink Communications. Access Humboldt is conducting sustainable training, skill-sharing and workforce development programs for the North Coast region of California, including youth from the Native American Table Bluff Wiyot Tribe, Karuk Tribe, and Hoopa Tribe.

Akaku: Maui Community Television is the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) designated Public, Education and Government Access (PEG) provider for the County of Maui. Akaku provides education classes, training, editing and studio facilities for the Maui County community to express its right to free speech through public access to the media. Akaku is able to provide this access via Akaku’s cable television channels, 52, 53 and 54.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Fe (BGCSF): serves some of the neediest families in Santa Fe. By strategically placing its Clubs in public housing developments and other neighborhoods where disadvantaged children live, BGCSF is the only nonprofit youth organization that conducts its out-of-school programs directly in the neighborhoods where the families they serve live. BGCSF provides a safe and enriching place for youth to learn and play, having access to nutritious meals and snacks, and adult guidance and support. For many of its members, BGCSF is the only place where their basic needs of food, shelter, and a safe environment are met on a regular basis for little or no cost. BGCSF implements a youth-development strategy that promotes and enhances feelings of competence, usefulness, belonging, self-worth, and influence in young people.

Community Media Access Partnership (CMAP) is a non-profit tax-exempt public, education and government access media center that serves Gilroy, Hollister and San Juan Baustista. CMAP provides free and low-cost media literacy, multimedia storytelling, technology, and video production trainings to any local resident, to non-profit organizations and to the education community. CMAP has trained hundreds local residents, youth, educators, and staff from local non-profits and aired thousands of local media programs on its cable Channels for public, educational and for government access (channels 17, 18, 19, and 20), in community screenings and online at www.cmap.tv. CMAP provides professional development for educators in the areas of digital storytelling, media literacy, technology tools, claymation, and video production.

Portland Community Media's (PCM) Youth Media Program is well established and reaches youth ages 14 to 18. Program trainers utilize curriculum that help participants develop a passion for technology, thus improve study habits, critical thinking, problem-solving and team-building skills. Furthermore, participants learn to produce projects that air on cable channels managed by Portland Community Media. The introductory program also serves as a precursor for teens who wish to participate in PCM's career development & job readiness program.

Reel Grrls empowers young women from diverse communities to realize their power, talent and influence through media production. The mission is to cultivate voice and leadership in girls at a vulnerable age in their development. What distinguishes their program is the high-level of support that our female mentors offer and the high level of commitment asked in return. Participants don't just drop into a computer lab after school — they develop lasting relationships with women filmmakers and learn skills that propel them to leadership roles in their community, college scholarships, and careers in the media industry. 93% of the participants state that they feel more confident being a leader after participating in our program.

Spy Hop Productions is a nonprofit, youth media arts center that provides safe out-of-school time mentoring programs in film/video production, radio, music, sound engineering, digital design, and animation. Spy Hop dedicates to empowering youth (k-12) to skillfully use media as a vehicle to explore their creativity, engage in their community and think critically about the world. Spy Hop’s programs (Multimedia Apprenticeship, Youth Documentary Arts, Pitchnic Film, and Loud & Clear Audio) encourage youth to explore issues that are relevant and meaningful to their lives while ensuring the development of new skills and competencies that will prepare them for the 21st Century. In addition, Spy Hop’s authentic, hands-on and project-based learning experiences promote positive youth development through individuality, creativity, leadership, and intellectual curiosity. Through the dissemination of media via broadband technology youth are able to express themselves and share their stories with the global community.

GenZD is a project of ZeroDivide funded by the U.S. Government's Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP).

Tribal Digital Village Broadband Adoption Program

Through the “Tribal Digital Village Broadband Adoption Program,” ZeroDivide will work with Southern California Tribal Chairmen’s Association (SCTCA) to implement a four-prong broadband adoption strategy which encompasses an outreach and public awareness campaign; basic digital literacy skills training; advanced content creation training; and sustainability. The proposed program is expected to raise broadband adoption among SCTCA’s 8,900 Tribal community members from the current 17% baseline to over 70%. It will also augment deployment of a residential broadband network to 2,000 Tribal homes. Geographic isolation and cultural barriers make tribal communities particularly vulnerable to disparities in broadband deployment and adoption.

SCTCA encompasses the reservations of 19 federally recognized tribes, primarily located in San Diego County, California, and reaching from southern Riverside County southward 150 miles to the US-Mexico border.

Tribal Digital Village Broadband Adoption Program is a project of ZeroDivide funded by the U.S. Government's Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP).