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Dear Chapter Delegates,</p>
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<span dir="ltr" class="uiOutputText" style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">I’m excited to share an article our team recently published in the </span><em style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><span dir="ltr" class="uiOutputText" style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Journal
 of Community Informatics. </span></em><span dir="ltr" class="uiOutputText" style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">This article showcases the work being done by chapters to help communities achieve Digital Equity on their own terms. This message serves
 two essential purposes: to highlight how "on-the-ground" efforts by chapters can make a transformative impact and to share our findings openly so others can use, adapt, and improve upon our approach.</span></p>
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<span dir="ltr" class="uiOutputText" style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Our paper, </span><em style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><span dir="ltr" class="uiOutputText" style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">"</span></em><span style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><em style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><span dir="ltr" class="uiOutputText" style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><b>Barriers
 to Meaningful Connectivity: Exploring Internet Access Options in a Low-Income Urban Neighbourhood,</b></span></em></span><em style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><span dir="ltr" class="uiOutputText" style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">"</span></em><span dir="ltr" class="uiOutputText" style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"> focuses
 on a research project in Winnipeg’s North End, where we worked closely with residents to identify barriers like high internet costs, limited digital literacy, and inadequate infrastructure. By involving the community through a participatory approach, we co-created
 a cooperative model that meets the connectivity needs of Indigenous and newcomer families. The goal was to ensure affordable, accessible, and sustainable internet access, maintained by the people who need it most.</span></p>
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<span dir="ltr" class="uiOutputText" style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">You can access the full article here, which is available under a Creative Commons license: </span><a href="https://openjournals.uwaterloo.ca/index.php/JoCI/article/view/5601" title="https://openjournals.uwaterloo.ca/index.php/JoCI/article/view/5601" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(58, 130, 228); text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.1s linear 0s; cursor: pointer;"><span dir="ltr" class="uiOutputText" style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Read
 the Article.</span></a></p>
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<span dir="ltr" class="uiOutputText" style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">In addition to the journal article, the Manitoba Research Alliance (MRA) has also published an excellent piece on this work: </span><a href="https://mra-mb.ca/north-end-connect-transformative-research-toward-digital-inclusion/" title="https://mra-mb.ca/north-end-connect-transformative-research-toward-digital-inclusion/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(58, 130, 228); text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.1s linear 0s; cursor: pointer;"><span dir="ltr" class="uiOutputText" style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">North
 End Connect: Transformative Research Toward Digital Inclusion.</span></a><span dir="ltr" class="uiOutputText" style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"> I encourage you to check it out for additional context and insights into the broader digital inclusion
 movement.</span></p>
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<span dir="ltr" class="uiOutputText" style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">We welcome any specific feedback or questions related to the research. However, out of respect for everyone on this mailing list, we kindly ask that you refrain from simple congratulatory
 replies such as “great job”—thank you in advance!</span></p>
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<span dir="ltr" class="uiOutputText" style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">A heartfelt thank you to the Internet Society, the Internet Society Foundation, and the Manitoba Research Alliance for their financial and operational support, which made this
 project possible.</span></p>
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<span dir="ltr" class="uiOutputText" style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Warm regards,</span></p>
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<span style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><span dir="ltr" class="uiOutputText" style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><b>Joel Templeman, CD, MPA, MEd</b></span></span></p>
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<span dir="ltr" class="uiOutputText" style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Executive Director, Internet Society Manitoba Chapter</span></p>
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<span dir="ltr" class="uiOutputText" style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Doctoral Student, University of Calgary</span></p>
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<span dir="ltr" class="uiOutputText" style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Paper URL: </span><a href="https://openjournals.uwaterloo.ca/index.php/JoCI/article/view/5601" title="" data-value="https://openjournals.uwaterloo.ca/index.php/JoCI/article/view/5601" class="cuf-url forceOutputURL" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(58, 130, 228); text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.1s linear 0s; cursor: pointer;">https://openjournals.uwaterloo.ca/index.php/JoCI/article/view/5601</a><span dir="ltr" class="uiOutputText" style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"></span></p>
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<span dir="ltr" class="uiOutputText" style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Article URL: </span><a href="https://mra-mb.ca/north-end-connect-transformative-research-toward-digital-inclusion/" title="" data-value="https://mra-mb.ca/north-end-connect-transformative-research-toward-digital-inclusion/" class="cuf-url forceOutputURL" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(58, 130, 228); text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.1s linear 0s; cursor: pointer;">https://mra-mb.ca/north-end-connect-transformative-research-toward-digital-inclusion/</a></p>
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