Papers & Presentations
The Tasmanian Community Network
Elizabeth James, See Change and Gwendolyn Adams, Tasmanian Women in Agriculture
The Tasmanian Community Network (TCN) has a vision of building and linking networks of people and technology to create 'clever' new ways of living, learning and doing business for everyone in Tasmania.
The TCN process actively encourages all Tasmanians to work together in community based projects to develop technological solutions as a means to achieve common goals. TCN encourages the development of links between these projects and those managed by businesses or associations so that ideas and resources are shared.
The TCN process has been established now for almost two years. In phase 1 it identified a number of issues critical to the development of our State in a technological age through community consultations. These were
- Economic development
- Competivieness in new markets
- Employment opportunities, especially for youth
- Marketing Tasmania and Tasmanians
- Access to lifelong learning and training
- Youth health and access to youth services
- Capatilise on local resources and expertise
- Identify a common vision across Tasmania
- Maintain local identity but within a State and global system
- Access and awareness of IT for all Tasmanians
A review of the TCN in July this year agreed that phase II had addressed each of these issues to some degree, although it was only just beginning to gain momentum.
This paper discusses the TCN process, highlighting the way it has catalysed the penetration of IT in regional Tasmania; the projects initiated in phase II; and the expanded directions for phase III.
Biography
Elizabeth James and Gwendolyn Adams are both members of the Tasmanian Community Network. They are members of the northern regional taskforce which has generated projects tackling issues such as unemployment, rural empowerment by raising awareness of IT, and growing IT businesses in the region. Gwendolyn Adams is a rural community leader, and former Tasmanian Rural Woman of the Year. Although a skilled secretary, she now runs her family property 'Leighlands' near Perth in northern Tasmania. Elizabeth James is a former academic and public servant who now runs a small consultancy service in regional Tasmania.