Bridging the Digital Divide

• The goal of the Bridging the Digital Divide Program is to increase access to computers and telecommunications technologies and to provide related training for residents living in low-income communities.

• Researchers have defined the digital divide as the gap between those with regular, effective access to digital technologies and those without. Insufficient education and being technologically ‘illiterate’ are significant barriers to individual economic competitiveness.

• The Digital Divide program works to:

  • Provide public access to computers for 200 residents of St. Clair County, Illinois;

  • Provide training for 110 individuals using the Microsoft Unlimited Potential Learning 21-hour “Computer Fundamentals” instructional course; and
  • Transition successful Digital Divide program participants into Urban League workforce training programs.

• The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, Inc. operates the Bridging the Digital Divide program in a state-of-the-art computer lab located in the St. Clair County Office.

• Bridging the Digital Divide program is funded through a grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity.