Media.Knet.Ca

Dear All,

This is an invitation to participate/attend a special videoconference event on Monday March 29, 2010 from 9:30-4:30pm EDT.

Visit http://odbs.knet.ca for more information

The event is a result of a collaborative project with the University of Toronto and Keewaytinook Okimakanak, with funding from the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities

The main theme of the event is "Reading in First Nations: Infrastructure, Access and Imagination". The aim is to explore the realities, barriers and challenges to reading in First Nations communities particularly in remote and isolated areas of Northern Ontario.

The meeting will be a hybrid of physical and virtual presence (through audio, videoconferencing and webcast) with four host sites confirmed to date:

• one in Sioux Lookout (KNET office),
• one in Keewaywin (e-center),
• one in Thunder Bay (KORI office), and
• one in Toronto (Design Exchange).
• Other interested videoconference sites are invited to join this event by calling Lyle Johnson at 877-737-KNET(5638) ext 1387.
• Everyone is invited to watch the event online at http://meeting.knet.ca

The day will include keynote speeches including:

• acclaimed author Drew Hayden Taylor,
• roundtable discussions,
• as well as demos of various initiatives aimed at supporting reading in First Nations (including the on-demand book service; DIY scanners, e-readers, libraries' initiatives, etc.).

We hope that you and other members of your community will be able to attend the event. More details about the venue, program, website, and other logistical matters will follow.

We would appreciate if you could RSVP if you plan on attending part or the whole event by sending an email to ondemandbookservice@gmail.com

For more information about the event, feel free to contact me (nadia.caidi@utoronto.ca) or Margaret Lam (margaret.lam@gmail.com).

Best regards.

Nadia Caidi

Associate Professor
Faculty of Information
University of Toronto
416 978 4664