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Building
Social Capital and Community Learning Networks in Community Internet Access
Centres
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David Bruce The Province of New Brunswick, Canada, has committed itself to development
a highly Internet and computer literate society to be able to take advantage
of emerging employment and social opportunities. A key element in this strategy
is the creation of community access centres in all rural communities and small
towns in the province. These provide opportunities for residents to learn about,
receive training on, and have continual access to, computers and the Internet.
A natural by-product of this activity is the emergence of new networks among
individuals and organizations at the community level, among communities, and
between communities and the provincial bureaucracy. The 150 or so centres are
having varying degrees of success in developing new social capital and skills
in their communities. A critical question is the future viability of these centres
which rely heavily on local volunteers, provincial employment programs, and
blanket provincial policy and program intervention, to ensure their success.
This paper and presentation documents activities to date and describes the likely
future of this venture, within the context of social capital and community learning.
Rural and Small Town Programme
Mount Allison University
76 York St, Sackville NB Canada, E4L 1E9
e-mail: dwbruce@mta.ca
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