[Imcamericorps] Fwd: [RFU] Press release for Upcoming event: eBlackCU Campus-Community Symposium

Tue Oct 5 12:34:46 CDT 2010

This might be a good outreach opportunity for at least a few of our
Americorps projects

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Noah Lenstra <nlenstr2 at illinois.edu>
Date: Mon, Oct 4, 2010 at 8:18 AM
Subject: [RFU] Press release for Upcoming event: eBlackCU Campus-Community
Symposium
To: rfu at lists.chambana.net

Press release:

Read below or read online at: http://eblackcu.net/portal/press_release

Free, Public Symposium Focuses on Digital Technology in Champaign-Urbana and
Campus-Community Relations

The eBlackChampaign-Urbana project, an initiative based in the Graduate
School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois, will host
a free, public campus-community symposium November 5-6, 2010, on the themes
of digital technology, community life and campus-community interactions.
Based around round-table discussions, the goals of this symposium are to: a)
make the University’s interactions with the historical African-American
community, and the Champaign-Urbana community in general, more transparent
and b) inspire and sustain conversations on digital technology and community
life, especially among African-Americans, but also among the general
population of Champaign-Urbana.
Champaign, Illinois October 4, 2010 -- Join in the conversation on
campus-community interactions and the revolutionary potentials of digital
technology! A two-day symposium November 5-6, in Champaign-Urbana will focus
on these themes and more.
This symposium will take place at two locations – the first day (Friday,
November 5) will be held at the Graduate School of Library and Information
Science, 501 E. Daniel, Champaign; the second day (Saturday, November 6) at
the Douglas Annex, 804 North Fifth Street, Champaign. Each day the symposium
will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with free lunch and refreshments available
both days. Registration is requested, but not required. Drop-ins are welcome
for any portion of the symposium. Help with parking is also available on
Friday for individuals who contact the project director by October 20.
The symposium grows out of the eBlackChampaign-Urbana (eBlackCU) project, an
initiative of the Community Informatics Lab, Graduate School of Library and
Information Science, University of Illinois. Over the past year, the
eBlackCU team has built a digital library of local African-American history
featuring everything from church programs to dissertations on local
African-American life and culture. The digital library has been built both
by the campus team and by local African-American interns from area high
schools and Parkland College.
In the course of building this digital library, two observations were made:
1) The University of Illinois, through student and faculty research, has
generated an enormous amount of documentation on local African-American
history; and 2) Digital divides in our Champaign-Urbana community made the
digital resource we were building inaccessible for many segments of the
populations we are trying to reach and involve in this collaborative
project.
Out of these insights emerged the eBlackChampaign-Urbana Campus-Community
Symposium, focusing on the inter-related themes of campus-community
interactions and the potentials of digital technology for revolutionizing
community life. Friday, the on-campus day, will focus on campus-community
interactions, while Saturday will focus on sparking dialogue on the current
and planned use of digital technology by churches, social service agencies,
community groups, educational agencies and heritage institutions.
The Symposium will begin with opening remarks by Vice Chancellor for Public
Engagement Steve Sonka, followed by community respondents on University of
Illinois Public Engagement. Following will be round-table discussion on
public engagement and local African-Americans.
At one p.m. on Friday will be an award ceremony for difference makers,
on-campus and in the community, in the lives of local African-Americans. A
commemorative booklet featuring photographs and biographies of these
difference makers will be distributed. Friday will conclude with a
round-table discussion of faculty and graduate student research and local
African-Americans and the release and discussion of Opening Up the
University,  a free, 400-page book bringing together documentation of the
University’s historical foot-print in the local African-American community
as well as documentation of over forty recent engagement and research
projects involving local African-Americans. Through this publication, which
the project team hopes to make recurring, the hope is to make the University
more transparent and accessible.
Saturday will be based around round-table discussions on digital technology
and community institutions, with discussions on community groups, community
memory, social service agencies, religious groups, educational initiatives,
libraries and heritage institutions using and trying to use digital
technology in their programs.
Although both days have as a primary audience local African-Americans, the
project team also hopes to include all members of the Champaign-Urbana
community, since these issues extend beyond the African-American community.
Everyone is welcome to participate and all voices will be heard.
Out of the symposium we will generate: 1) talking points and proceedings on
the educational and infrastructure needs for all members of the
Champaign-Urbana community to actively integrate digital technology into
their day-to-day lives and 2) the beginnings of an informal infrastructure
to connect together and rationalize the many campus projects that have as a
primary audience local African-Americans.
This symposium can only succeed with your participation! Individuals wishing
to volunteer before, during or after the Symposium are encouraged to contact
us and/or stop by our volunteer planning day, Thursday, October 21, at the
Champaign Public Library’s conference room, room 215, between 5:30 and 7
p.m. The project team requests assistance in spreading the word on this
symposium, serving on a hospitality committee during the symposium, and
performing technical support. Everyone from high school students to senior
citizens are welcomed and encouraged to volunteer their time to make this
event a success.
More information and an online registration form are available at
http://www.eBlackCU.net/symposium. The eBlackChampaign-Urbana project is
directed by Noah Lenstra and Abdul Alkalimat of the Graduate School of
Library and Information Science and Department of African-American Studies,
University of Illinois. Financial support for this project comes from the
Office of the Vice Chancellor for Public Engagement and the Community
Informatics Research Laboratory, University of Illinois.
Inquiries on this event should be directed to Noah Lenstra at 217-244-8203
or 815-275-0268, by e-mail to nlenstr2 at illinois.edu, or by using the contact
form on the eBlackCU.net website.
Contact:
Noah Lenstra
Graduate School of Library and Information Science
501 E. Daniel
Champaign, IL 61820
815-275-0268 (cell) or 217-244-8203 (office)
nlenstr2 at illinois.edu
 http://www.eBlackCU.net
###
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