BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres

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BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres
Raven Youth Tech Initiative National Connecting
Aboriginal Canadians Forum March 14, 2002 Ottawa,
ON
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Raven Youth Tech Initiative
Aboriginal Youth Gathering Strength
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Presenters

• Carl Mashon Program Coordinator BCAAFC
• Tony Charlie Raven Youth Tech Duncan BC
• Paul Lacerte Executive Director BCAAFC

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Overview

• Background
• Aboriginal Friendship Centres
• Raven Youth Tech Program Summary
• Bridging Technology to the Community
• Aboriginal Innovation in Action / Phase II
  Phase III

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Urban Aboriginal Demographics
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Friendship Centres
24 in B.C. 117 Across Canada
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Friendship Centres British Columbia

• 24 centres w/ 800 Staff
• Full spectrum of social services w/ over 300,000
  points of service delivery / yr.
• Provides comfortable, familiar and culturally
  supportive environment services

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The Digital Divide for Urban Aboriginal Peoples

• Poverty Lack of technology access
• Lack of human resource / skill development
• Large deficiency of Aboriginal IT technicians in
  Native organizations
• Fear
• Cultural relevance of technologies

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Solutions Raven Tech

• Funding secured from the Province of British
  Columbia (Fiscal 2001)
• 24 full time jobs created for Aboriginal youth
• Implementation of Peer Support strategy
• Public Access stations established and operating
  in 24 urban Aboriginal communities
• Skills Development Cultural Capacity Building

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Online Peer Support
mIRC Server E-mail Instant Messenging
BCAAFC Victoria Help Desk
Public Access Workstation Prince Rupert
Public Access Workstation Ft. Nelson
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Raven Tech in Action

• Sustainable
• Successful
• Supportive

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Bridging Technology in Communities

• Technology Access Opportunity for Youth
• Online Peer Support / Central Help Desk
• Cultural Education Development

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Aboriginal Innovation in Action / Phase II

• Strategic Plan 2002 2003
• Increase utilization of public access sites
• Implement comprehensive skills development
  strategy
• Build federal, provincial, private sector
  partnerships

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Aboriginal Innovation in Action / Phase III

• Expand Raven Tech Initiative from 24 sites in
  B.C. to 117 sites across Canada
• Ensure sustainability
• Stay Groovy!