Media.Knet.Ca

Maurice Montreuil, Director, Broadband Initiatives, Energy science & Technology with the Manitoba provincial government, traveled to Sioux Lookout yesterday to meet with K-Net staff. Some of the discussions were about how the remote communities in Northern Manitoba might benefit from the infrastructure resources that are part of the Kuhkenah Network. In particular the services in place to support the satellite served First Nations in Northern Ontario and Quebec were of interest to Maurice.

A video conference with Chief Roy Gray and his council from their band office in Fort Severn provided both an effective demonstration of the operation of the network as well as some answers concerning the development and sharing of applications serving these remote communities. Quick tours of the telehealth and teleradiology sites at Menoyawin Health Centre (thanks to Carol Woods and Dermot McLoughlin) provided Maurice with a clear picture of the potential for developing the proper infrastructure to support these types of applications.

High school students in Attawapiskat attending Vezina Secondary School are now sharing the limited space available at the local elementary school due to flooding caused by a broken water pipe. The elementary school consists of portables that have been in place for four years, ever since the local elementary school was closed due to contaminants at that site were making the students sick. Click here to read the story posted in the Timmins' Daily Press.

This is the fourth First Nation school closing reported this fall. Fort Severn First Nation students have been without a school since May, 2004 due to extensive mould contamination. Pikangikum First Nation had to close their school due to roofing problems and over crowded conditions. Neskantaga First Nation had to close their school due to polluted drinking water.

Carolyn Anderson, from the provinicial South Australia government, was in Ottawa last week as participating in a federal government sponsored event. Meetings were arranged with Industry Canada's First Nations SchoolNet program to discuss how the federal government is supporting First Nations to develop broadband infrastructure and local applications. On her return trip, she was able to spend a day in Toronto meeting with NORTH Network and the KO Telehealth project in the morning. In the afternoon, she met with the Education Network of Ontario and the K-Net team to discuss the network and educational applications.

Her co-worker in Australia had read the "The K-Net Story, Community ICT Development Work" in the current issue of the Community Informatics Journal (www.ci-journal.net). She began writing to K-Net asking questions about our work. Her comments and the responses can be read at the end of the article in the COMMENTS section. The South Australia Government is interested in investing in the development of broadband infrastructure for the remote and rural communities across their region. Wendy pointed us to an information web site about some of the Aboriginal communities in her region at www.wangkawilurrara.com.

Thanks to our partners at NORTH Network and the Education Network of Ontario for being such great hosts on such short notice and for including Keewaytinook Okimakanak in this opportunity to share our story.

As part of the First Nation SchoolNet / RMO initiative, Cal Kenny has been working with different First Nation schools and communities to gather and prepare various video material for presentation on-line. His latest production was created from interviews and footage he was able to obtain during last month's Pelican Falls Residential School Gathering that was hosted by Northern Nishnawbe Education Council.

This is a five and a half minute video clip that provides a special perspective from several residential school survivors. To watch this video click on the address below:

• http://streaming.knet.ca/pelican_falls_100k.wmv (low speed)
• http://streaming.knet.ca/pelican_falls_300k.wmv (high speed)

Cal has posted several video clips from different gatherings that include traditional land-based activities to traditional gatherings. Most of his productions can be found linked from his personal homepage located at http://calkenny.myknet.org ... click on MY ARCHIVE

BC Chief Ron Ignace, the chair of the Aboriginal Language Initiative (ALI) was impressed with the work of KO with ICTs during the Sweetgrass Language Conference...

Dan Pellerin, K-Net Network Manager and Brian Beaton, K-Net Coordinator presented information abpit K-Net to the National Rural Conference 2004 participants via video conference. The presentation is entitled "Using Broadband Connections for Rural and Remote Community Development". Click here to see the powerpoint presentation.

From the conference web site at http://www.rural.gc.ca/conference/index_e.phtml

National Rural Conference 2004

Publications prepared for the conference will be posted on this site to ensure interested Canadians have access to this information. Please visit this site again in the fall as we begin posting documents. Further reports will be added following the event. Attendance at the third National Rural Conference is by invitation only

Dan Pellerin, K-Net's Network Manager, travelled to Winnipeg this week to meet with the Manitoba Regional Management Organization. Then he drove to Brandon to attend this year's Tech2004 gathering.

Dan's presentation, "The First Nation Community of Slate Falls Converts to VoIP" highlights the development and operation of the voice-over-internet telephone system that Slate Falls is installing in their community under their BRAND project being administered by Windigo First Nations Tribal Council in partnership with Keewaytinook Okimakanak (K-Net) and Muskrat Dam First Nation.

Click here to see the Tech2004 gathering site.

The Chiefs of Keewaytinook Okimakanak met with their staff on Tuesday, October 19 for discussions about current issues affecting their communities and their organization. From the discussions and program updates, thirteen Chief resolutions were developed with twelve of them being pasted during the Wednesday morning session. Harvey Yesno, Executive Director of Nishnawbe Aski Development Fund, met with the Chiefs on Wednesday morning to provide an update on a number of issues including the Ontario-Manitoba Interconnect plans for a hydro line through NAN territory.

On Wednesday at noon, the Chiefs of Keewaytinook Okimakanak joined others at the new Dryden Regional Training and Cultural Centre for its grand opening ceremony. The Chiefs and Keewaytinook Okimakanak are partnering with the centre and its management to develop and deliver a world class Water Treatment Plant Operator Training program.

Click here to read the Thunder Chronicle Journal article about the opening ceremonies. During Chief Roy Gray's remarks he reminded everyone in the audience about the challenges facing First Nations by sharing his feelings about seeing this wonderful new building and being there while back in his community the local school has been shut down since June due to mould contamination.

Let's Talk: Global Communications, Innovation, and Participatory Videoconferencing

December 9, 2004 : 8am to 2pm, and 6pm to Midnight EST (GMT-5)

Join us in December for a truly interactive global event. Presentations this year will include not just talks, but also musical events, dramatizations, and any other form of interactive communication. All presentations will be strongly encouraged to take advantage of the interactive possibilities in videoconferencing, by engaging with the registered participants, presenting from multiple locations, or by any other means that take advantage of this multiway, real-time communication technology in research and education.

About the Megaconference http://www.megaconference.org/

Each year, the Megaconference occurs as a result of a tremendous amount of volunteer effort and good will, with the goal of connecting people together everywhere on Earth where someone chooses to participate, in order to further the use of videoconferencing in education and research and to advance of the state of the art in videoconferencing technology.

On the chosen date, speakers from across the globe share their latest real-world uses of H.323 videoconferencing, while using H.323 videoconferencing to do so. The audience consists of:

· Active participants who have access to advanced Internet connectivity and an H.323 videoconferencing endpoint, and
· Observers who watch the simultaneous stream using a web browser and freely available stream players.

If you would like to join Megaconference VI as an active participant, please register by the deadline. If you would like to observe this year's Megaconference, please visit our streaming page. If you would like to participate as a volunteer in any way for this or the next Megaconference, please feel free to contact us.

The Technology

A system of distributed, H.323 multipoint control units (MCUs) located around the world will be cascaded together to create a cutting-edge Internet videoconference infrastructure. For more, visit our MCU page.

The Email List

If you wish to subscribe to the Megaconference email list, simply send Bob Dixon an email, telling him briefly who you are and that you wish to join the list. Great practical discussions on H.323 issues occur on this list.

Call for Proposals: Submit Your Proposal Here

Registration is Open: Register to Participate Here

We hope to see you on December 9 for a global conference from a world of locations

Geordi Kakepetum, Keewaytinook Okimakanak's Executive Director, wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Paul Minister presenting a strategy to complete the work required to support all First Nations to develop local broadband infrastructure and uses for the network. Click here to read the entire letter and the AFN resolution (117K PDF). Hopefully other Aboriginal communities and organizations will send similar letters to the federal government encouraging further investment and development in these ICT tools.

"At the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) gathering in Charlottetown this past summer the attached Chiefs’ resolution (First Nation Telecommunication Technologies and Broadband Infrastructure) was tabled by Chief Raymond Mason from Keewaywin First Nation. The resolution recognizes the socio-economic importance of broadband connectivity in First Nations across the country. It directs the AFN leadership to ensure that Industry Canada (both regional and national programs) complete the job of ensuring that all Aboriginal communities have the opportunity to develop and maintain their own broadband infrastructure. The resolution also clarifies the role that other Federal government departments such as Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) and Health Canada need to undertake by supporting local and regional applications such as telehealth, e-learning, and e-commerce to ensure the ongoing sustainability of these community broadband networks. ...

It is important that any investment by the Federal government in the development of local broadband infrastructure, includes parallel investments in the ongoing development and operation of the different applications that address local needs. Strategic investments by INAC, Health Canada, Human Resource Development, Canadian Heritage supporting local broadband networks are required so they can remain sustainable. There are no federal or provincial programs that provide the necessary funds to maintain the operation of these services. This gap in funding must be addressed and eliminated.

There are various pilot projects that fund innovative services such as the Keewaytinook Okimakanak Telehealth Initiative or the Keewaytinook Internet High School. But these innovative projects are at risk unless operational funds are supported by the appropriate departments. Strategic capital investment from FedNor and other partners have made it possible to introduce local telemedicine, teleradiology, high school programs and other applications but now the need and challenge is to ensure the ongoing operation of these services.

The Auditor General noted in several reports about the challenges that First Nation communities are faced with as they try to work with the department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. Effective use of these new information communication technologies (ICTs) by INAC, Health Canada and First Nations will support the development of improved local services and opportunities. But these improvements will only occurred if these departments and their staff have the program dollars required to support the ongoing operation of these technologies and the broadband connections so the services can be sustained.

Today, federal regional agencies such as FedNor have the flexibility to compliment other programs such BRAND, that supports First Nations in completing the necessary local infrastructure builds. This type of program flexibility ensures that all communities, even those with limited financial and human resources are now able to compete for broadband infrastructure and develop local applications that address local needs. The National Satellite Initiative is supporting local regional economic opportunities through partnerships such as the Kativik Regional Government in northern Quebec with funding support from CED and their work with Keewaytinook Okimakanak in northern Ontario with strategic infrastructure investments by FedNor that now make satellite broadband available in nearly 30 remote Aboriginal communities in these inter-provincial regions. ..."