JONESBORO — The National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) named Clayton County as a 2023 Digital Inclusion Trailblazer, recognizing the county’s efforts to close the digital divide.
“We are so honored to receive this recognition of our digital equity efforts,” said Digital Equity Administrator Takiyah Thomas. “Since the inception of our office on July 1, 2022, we have hosted or participated in 50 ACP Sign-Up events, assisted 191 residents with applying for the ACP benefit, of which 67 qualified, facilitated 83 free digital skills trainings, of which 399 Clayton County residents have participated, and provided 207 free devices to our residents via partnerships with local and national non-profit organizations. We have only scratched the surface and look forward to continuing to work to close the digital divide in Clayton County ‘one household at a time’.”
This year, Clayton County joins a record number of Digital Inclusion Trailblazers, with 47 total awardees representing municipal, county, and regional governments paving the way for digitally inclusive communities across the US.
“Nonprofits, libraries, churches, and other community organizations can’t reach digital equity on their own. For everyone to thrive in today’s digital world, we need all hands on deck,” said NDIA Executive Director Angela Siefer, NDIA executive director. “NDIA’s Digital Inclusion Trailblazers exemplify the key role local governments have in building connected communities for all of their residents.”
Trailblazers provide models for other local governments to aspire to as communities build digital inclusion ecosystems.
Clayton County achieved Trailblazer status by prioritizing digital residents of their communities through:
— Heavily promoting the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), a $30/month federal subsidy, used to lower the cost of home internet…
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