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If
you live in a rural area, you know it yourself. The share of the population living the rural
life is shrinking as large cities grow.
That reduces opportunities for education and employment, forcing the brightest
young adults to leave town in order to make a living.
Or maybe you're one of those people who left - but would prefer to live in the countryside if you could just figure out how to make a living there.
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They are places that have bucked the trend. These communities use broadband and information technology to eliminate distance as a barrier to growth and make digital networks take the place of the physical proximity that urban areas provide. They are no longer in "the middle of nowhere."
The people who live there are part of a dynamic economy and progressive community. Innovative local businesses find global markets for their products and services. Education thrives and graduates have the chance to build a life in the place they love. Workers and employers pursue cutting-edge innovation while enjoying a quality of life their urban peers can only envy.
These small towns and rural communities have lessons to share with each other and the rest of the world. We need your
help to get those lessons to the places that need them the most.
We are the Intelligent Community Forum, a 15-year-old social enterprise that helps cities and regions use broadband and information technology to create prosperity, meet social challenges and strengthen their culture. Two years ago, we launched a project (www.ruralimperative.com) focusing specifically on the problems and potential of rural regions. The New Connected Countryside is our next step.
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With your help, the New Connected Countryside will provide an
online platform where community leaders, residents, institutions and businesses
from around the world can connect, exchange advice, share resources and build a
global network of peers. Each year, they
will come together for a virtual global conference featuring mayors,
county executives, nonprofit leaders, technologists, educators, investors and all the other
players in the new rural economy.
Year round, they will share their discoveries,
their successes, failures and lessons learned with each other. Drawn by their passion for progress, they
will forge bonds that help them to retain their talented youth, to grow
businesses that provide good incomes, and to give local culture a global
sounding board.
Why We Need Your Help
A
virtual collaboration platform is a low-cost way to bring innovators
together – but it’s not free. Our costs
will include a high-quality Web platform providing registration, presentations,
document libraries, online meet-ups and more, plus the human hours needed to curate
the content, build participation and organize and market the annual conference.
Your contribution makes it possible for The New Connected Community to get off
the ground and complete its first year. Future
years will be funded by participants and organizations as well as donors like
you.
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A dozen leading rural communities
have already committed to participate, from Mitchell, South Dakota and Quitman,
Mississippi to Parkland County, Alberta and Whanganui, New Zealand. The leaders of those communities are defining
bold visions, taking risks and learning from experience how to translate
connectivity into opportunity.
Hundreds more communities
are waiting for the opportunity. Help us
meet our fundraising goal, and you can be part of that network – and give
people in rural communities around the world a chance for a better future.
What Happens Next
When we reach our fundraising goal, we will:
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Develop and launch the New Connected Countryside platform.
- Learn from our subscribers what topics are most important to them.
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Engage Discussion Leaders on those topics: email us if you would like to be considered as a Discussion Leader.
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Invite contributions from recognized leaders in rural development.
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Post videos, presentations and best practices drawn from the community of participants.
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Schedule and produce the first virtual Rural Summit.
With your support, roll-out in stages can begin in April 2016. But we can't do it without you. Donate today at whatever level is right for you.
What We Have Done Before This?
Press
These print and online publications have covered the work of the Intelligent Community Forum in recent years:
Other Ways You Can Help
If you can't contribute but still would like to help:
- Share the news about The New Connected Community with your friends and colleagues who might be interested in contributing.
- Follow the Intelligent Community Forum LinkedIn Group, Facebook Page and on Twitter @newcommunities.
Thanks!
