Media.Knet.Ca

From Videocom research project web site at http://videocom.knet.ca .... 

KORI presents VideoCom research at conference in Italy

November 5, 2007: Brian Walmark, KORI Research Director, presents a research paper today at a major international conference in Prato, Italy. The research paper - Community-based broadband organizations and video communications for remote and rural First Nations in Canada – is based on the VideoCom project’s study of how K-Net and the Atlantic Canada’s First Nation Help Desk are supporting community development in the remote and rural First Nations on their networks.

Brian is making his presentation at the annual conference of CIRN, the Community Informatics Research Network, in a session with research papers from Italy and Australia. On Wednesday Brian will chair another session at the conference with research papers from Italy, Australia and New Zealand. The CIRN conference is a prime opportunity for KORI to network with researchers internationally to discuss the work of K-Net and the Atlantic Helpdesk to support community, social and economic development in First Nation communities.

The VideoCom project is led by the National Research Council with partners K-Net, KORI, the Atlantic Helpdesk and the University of New Brunswick. The research is funded by SSHRC with in-kind contributions from the partners. The CIRN research paper, available for download from the project website http://videocom.knet.ca, will be published in the CIRN conference proceedings. The paper is based on a study conducted by researchers at the NRC and the University of New Brunswick.

The research paper concludes:

The two organizations are actively supporting videoconferencing in First Nations. K-Net supports about 1,000 videoconferences a year in addition to telehealth sessions and the Atlantic Help Desk supports about 150 videoconferences a year. The communities are using videoconferencing to conserve financial and human resources and allow participation in events that may not otherwise be possible due to time and travel constraints. The videoconferencing provides more access to region-wide activities, and it promotes interaction between sites and groups that may not have connected previously.

Videoconferencing fosters many community development initiatives. The videoconferences are primarily for interactive learning related to personal, professional or community development, for meetings and for community get-togethers. The main topics of the videoconferences are health and wellness, education and learning, culture and language, information and communication technology, and economic and community development. Videoconferencing connects many people and locations. Most of the videoconferences are in the same province but many are connecting sites in two or more provinces, or even internationally. Most of the videoconferences connect more than 10 participants, and women are actively using videoconferencing.

The communities are using online video to share their stories with each other, with other First Nation communities, and with the wider outside world. Both K-Net and the Atlantic Help Desk have supported the production of online videos through training programs, and both are hosting online videos on their servers made by First Nations community members. Similar to the videoconferences, the online videos are mainly used as a resource for learning related to personal, professional or community development. A third of the videos address topics related to community and economic development.

The organizations see themselves as supporting First Nation community development, recognizing that economic development is a priority for all First Nations and that each has its own community development goals. They recognize that they need to keep focused on getting the technology into the communities, not telling communities what to do with it. The organizations are fostering a community-based technology development model. Both organizations have a strong awareness of the issues facing their First Nations communities and the need to foster community-based solutions to broadband diffusion and community challenges.

They work with many different First Nation organizations, governments, universities and commercial organizations. As their network of contacts expands, they foster awareness in their partners and contacts of the importance of community-based solutions. Whenever possible, they use videoconferencing to communicate with their partners and contacts, and they encourage them to use videoconferencing with the communities on their networks.

The organizations recognize the need for more widespread changes in First Nations and Canadian society in order for First Nations to reach their community development goals. Changes are needed in First Nations and governments, and at the level of individual Canadians.

Clearly the two organizations are actors in the broader social movement working toward self-determination for First Nations in Canada. Their specific role in the context of this research is supporting the use of visual technologies - videoconferencing and online video - by First Nations toward their community development goals. The two organizations are providing opportunities for the communities to use their networks and technologies - originally developed to deliver telehealth and distance education - for a wide range of other community development activities.