Week 10 Lecture Reflection

Week ten’s lecture was given by Tanya Notley and was about the digital divide and more specifically the Youth Internet Radio Network (YIRN) project. I learnt about the digital divide and how it concerns the ability of people access to technology. Economic, social and cultural gaps result in people not having equal access to technology, especially information communication technologies (ICTs) like the Internet. The digital divide is a topical area that receives much attention within academia. YIRN is an online network which aims to develop creativity and innovation within young people, especially those living within remote and regional areas. YIRN aims to develop cultural and economic opportunities as well as political objectives. From what I gathered from Tanya, YIRN provides skills and opportunities for young people in order to bridge the digital divide by encouraging the development of technological skills within those people who may not necessarily have had the opportunity to do so. They have a really interesting website Sticky which contains some of the clips produced by young people as shown during the lecture. The thing I found most interesting about YIRN is that it involves young indigenous people and teaches them technological skills. This is something that I am personally interested in. I think it is really important for indigenous people to have access to technology and especially the means of media production. Through indigenous people producing their own media they are ultimately preserving their culture. I could write about this for hours but I won’t do that at this point in time :-)