Will for the Web
Workshops and Trainings
The Will for the Web has brought civil society participants together to generate ideas for solutions to advance digital equity. Now, join us for a workshop series to build on this work, learn new skills, and collaborate with others to turn these ideas into a reality.
Following these workshops, in the third phase of the Will for the Web, participants will be invited to present ideas they have developed, with grants of up to $5,000 awarded to support the most promising solutions.
Photo by Christina Morillo
The workshops are centered around the three themes which were the focus of the idea generation phase of this project: 1) Experiencing the web 2) the Future of the web and 3) Financing the web.
Experiencing the web
Join us to learn why it’s important for your NGO to be “digital ready” and how to assess your technology needs.
Civil society and the future of the distributed web
Join us for a workshop to learn more about alternatives to centralized web services.
Financing the Web
Learn how impact investing can accelerate digital equity and connect underserved communities to the internet.
Experiencing the web
Date: Tuesday, January 31st, 2023 at 11:00 New York / 16:00 London / 18:00 Johannesburg
Duration: 1.5 hours
Join us to learn why it is important for your NGO to be “digital ready” and how to assess your technology needs and digital capabilities. Following this, you will have the opportunity to collaborate with other participants to develop ideas for solutions to advance digital equity.
Participants will get:
- Learn about digital readiness and how to use a digital assessment tool
- Gain recommendations for tools to help improve digital capabilities
- Further develop promising solutions and ideas that emerged in the idea generation phase of the Will for the Web project.
- Have the opportunity to present these solutions, with the chance to win a grant of up-to USD $5,000.
This workshop is open to the public — all are welcome
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Presenter Bio – Mike Yeaton, TechSoup Global Network
Mike Yeaton is a Senior Consultant for TechSoup, focusing on data analysis and program design. Prior to this, he served as Chief Strategy Officer for a $1.5b health conversion foundation. His previous accomplishments at TechSoup include leading the launch of the TechSoup Global Network and growing it to 30 countries in three years. Prior to that, he was Vice President of Engineering for Walmart.com where he led the development, QA and operations for their $1b ecommerce site. Before that he was Senior Director of Web Technology for Gap Inc., where he led the team that built and launched the company’s first ecommerce sites
Civil Society and the Future of the Distributed Web
Date: Wednesday, February 1st, 2023 at 11:00 New York / 16:00 London / 18:00 Johannesburg
Duration: 1.5 hours
Join us for a workshop to learn more about alternatives to centralized web services. Danny O’Brien from the Filecoin Foundation for the Decentralized Web will lead a training on the risks and benefits of storing data outside of corporate silos. Following this, you will have the opportunity to collaborate with other participants to develop ideas for solutions to advance digital equity.
Participants will get:
- Learn about issues of cost, resilience, distribution and control of their data online.
- Learn how their organization can upload public data sets onto the decentralized web and make it globally accessible using a tool known as Estuary.
- Further develop promising solutions and ideas that emerged in the idea generation phase of the Will for the Web project.
- Have the opportunity to present these solutions, with the chance to win a grant of up-to USD $5,000.
This workshop is open to the public — all are welcome
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Presenter Bio – Danny O’Brien, Filecoin Foundation for the Decentralized Web
Danny O’Brien is Senior Fellow at the Filecoin Foundation, and the Filecoin Foundation for the Decentralized Web. He has been a tech journalist, developer and defender of online free speech, privacy and an open internet for more than 20 years, including over a decade’s activism at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).
Financing the Web
Date: Thursday, February 2nd, 2023 at 11:00 New York / 16:00 London / 18:00 Johannesburg
Duration: 1.5 hours
Join us for an introduction to impact investing for digital equity and learn how innovative approaches to finance can connect rural, low-income, and other underserved communities to the internet. Following this, you will have the opportunity to collaborate with other participants to develop ideas for solutions to advance digital equity.
Participants will get:
- Learn the basics of impact investing and how it can be applied to digital equity
- Identify key traits that investors look for in determining if a community is ‘investment ready’
- Further develop promising solutions and ideas that emerged in the idea generation phase of the Will for the Web project.
- Have the opportunity to present these solutions, with the chance to win a grant of up-to USD $5,000.
This call is open to the public – all are welcome. Funders and communities curious about impact investing in the digital equity space are particularly encouraged to attend.
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Presenter Bio – Brian Vo, Connect Humanity
Brian Vo serves as Connect Humanity’s Chief Investment Officer in leading our investment efforts to structure the right type of financing solution that meets the needs of organizations advancing digital equity. He collaborates with Connect Humanity’s partners, communities and social enterprises alike, to understand connectivity barriers, local context and needs, and the implications on the appropriate blend of impact finance.
Questions?
To find out more about this program, email sarah@connecthumanity.fund