Hi Here is some background on the speaker https://ischool.utoronto.ca/news/phd-student-wants-to-bridge-toronto-communi... Mersereau is in the final stages of editing his dissertation, which looks at broadband internet access as a basic utility in households. The onsite data collection for his research was carried out in late 2018 and early 2019 when he drilled down and asked residents at three different TCHC residential facilities about how they manage their basic needs. They talked to Mersereau about different household practices, including education, healthcare, finances and nutrition so he could see what, if any, role access to broadband played. “Most of the stuff with the school is online now,” said one single parent. “I can pay for my kid’s school trips and stuff like that, but the most important thing for us are the Google Docs and library reservations.” Older residents told Mersereau they used the internet for everything from watching physiotherapy exercise videos to booking transport. “I log into the UHN (University Health Network) website every day to make sure I haven’t missed an appointment or mixed up the medication I’m supposed to take,” said one senior. Another resident didn’t understand how people could get by without the internet. “Anything you need to do with Revenue Canada, applying for benefits and stuff, means you have to go online and connect to them through your bank, which means you need online banking,” the resident said. For Mersereau, surveying and talking to residents gave him “a real sense of how valuable having access to the internet is and what happens when that service is interrupted.” His goal was to provide tangible, evidence-based research to help inform policy outcomes related to universal access. His doctoral research built on his earlier Master’s thesis, which explored the role of Internet-based technologies in supporting and sustaining the organizational practices of Toronto’s Native-Men’s-Residence (Na-Me-Res). Mersereau credits his advisor, Professor Leslie Shade, for suggesting that investigating broadband use in basic needs activities “would make for a great PhD thesis”. As a result of his work in the field, as well as connections made advocating at City Hall for motorcycle safety, Mersereau had established relationships in the municipal bureaucracy, making it easier for him to get his proposal for TCHC to decision makers. With 110,000 low-income residents, the TCHC is the second largest social housing provider in North America, right behind New York City. In the past, the city had looked at the possibility of deploying enhanced WiFi networks and delivering broadband internet on its own, both of which were judged too challenging and complex. Having TCHC assume a kind of intermediary status as the service provider, as Mersereau proposes, is a simpler and quicker solution. If accepted, it would have to go out for a competitive bid. “The service will be there and residents will have access whether they choose to use it or not,” explains Mersereau. If accepted, it would function in the same way as Hydro and other utilities, which are included in the rent of 85% of TCH units. Households that want to retain their existing internet services would get a credit back on their base rent. Mersereau hopes that the pandemic has finally made it clear that “subsidizing broadband is not paying for people to watch Netflix. It’s subsidizing their ability to send children to school and perform basic financial activities, and stopping them from becoming further impoverished,” he says. *Update:* Michel Mersereau successfully defended his doctoral thesis, *The Essential Internet: Locating Internet Contingent Practices & Activities at the Toronto Community Housing Corporation*, on December 16. Glenn McKnight, MA Virtual School of Internet Governance Chief Information Officer www.virtualsig.org *YOUR SOURCE FOR INTERNET GOVERNANCE EDUCATION * On Fri, May 21, 2021 at 8:47 AM Glenn McKnight <mcknight.glenn@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Sorry about the error. this is an early version of the Canva facebook post Its on Tuesday May 25t,h at 2021 [image: image.png]

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89923898137?pwd=RHI3Z1hFKzBLQ1hCaFhKM3g4akJpZz09

Meeting ID: 899 2389 8137

Passcode: 253082

Glenn McKnight, MA Virtual School of Internet Governance Chief Information Officer www.virtualsig.org *YOUR SOURCE FOR INTERNET GOVERNANCE EDUCATION *

On Thu, May 20, 2021 at 11:16 PM Aminat Adebiyi <Aminat.Adebiyi@ibm.com> wrote:

...

Hello,

I wanted to confirm that the lecture will be next year in 2022? I looked up May 2nd, 2022 and it is on a Monday.

Thanks, Aminat

----- Original message ----- From: Glenn McKnight <mcknight.glenn@gmail.com> To: NDIA Affiliates and Friends Listserv <listserv@digitalinclusion.org>, Marita Moll <mmoll@ca.inter.net>, NA Discuss < na-discuss@atlarge-lists.icann.org> Cc: Subject: [EXTERNAL] [NDIA Listserv] Lecture announcement Date: Thu, May 20, 2021 4:36 PM

Glenn McKnight, MA Virtual School of Internet Governance Chief Information Officer www.virtualsig.org YOUR SOURCE FOR INTERNET GOVERNANCE EDUCATION -- To change the way you receive these messages, please email info@digitalinclusion.org ZjQcmQRYFpfptBannerStart This Message Is From an External Sender This message came from outside your organization. ZjQcmQRYFpfptBannerEnd [image: image.png] Glenn McKnight, MA Virtual School of Internet Governance Chief Information Officer www.virtualsig.org *YOUR SOURCE FOR INTERNET GOVERNANCE EDUCATION *

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