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Hello folks, The first meeting of the VolNet National Advisory Committee was held last week. It's a *very* diverse group. Very different levels of internet and community experience; discussions were intense. Few conclusions were reached, these will occur through listserves which are now being set up and confirmed at our next meeting in late August. I would like to pass on a few observations... hopefully they're pertinent... One of the committees key "issues" is the need to help the volunteer sector understand the strategic value of the internet as a technology that can help both the sector and organizations in the sector to further their own mission. There are a number of views on how this might be accomplished. My guess is that the committee will identify several activities to develop this understanding. My own experience would suggest that this is a significant challenge. There seems to be a strong commitment to build on what already exists in the community. I.e., *not* reinvent the wheel and create infrastructures that will compete with existing activity. This will be a challenge given the diversity of infrastructure that exists across Canada, but I believe that CCN can benefit from this commitment. There also seems to be a bias towards the more "grassroots" type of organization rather than the more established organizations. I have no idea how this will play out because its also recognized that the more established organizations might be in the best position to demonstrate results in the short term. Finally, time is an issue. Government has only committed funding for the next three years. It will be important for the program to show results fairly quickly. Given the small amount of funds allocated to the program, I expect that the advisory committee will be *the* method/process for public consultation. I'll keep both the board and ip lists up to date as things progress. ---- Peter Mortimer Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
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