Session focused on driving community-based digital skilling for diverse/underserved populations
NEW NORTH, Sept. 22, 2025 – A free event designed to explore practical ways to support digital inclusion across generations and capacities – The Age of Influence: Building Connected Futures – is being held Oct. 7 from 8:30-11 a.m. at the Kroc Community Center in Bellevue, Wis. The event is made possible in part by a Community Challenge Grant from AARP.
Registration for the event is available at https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/aspdfsa or through the QR code at bottom.
The keynote speaker is Darrin Wasniewski, senior associate state director of community outreach for AARP. He will share how digital skills training empowers adults 50-plus to enhance their financial security, health, social connections and other areas of impact, along with available AARP resources.
“It is vital to continue to equip individuals across all generations and capacities with the digital literacy skills needed to thrive in today’s world,” says Rebecca Deschane, vice president of talent development for New North, Inc. “For those individuals and organizations who would like to learn how to engage in the process, this event is a great opportunity to do so.”
The day’s agenda begins with registration and networking, along with a light breakfast, from 8:30-9 a.m. A regional update on the NEW B.O.O.S.T.™ initiative and the keynote by Wasniewski follow. The morning wraps up with roundtable community discussions from 10:15-11 a.m.
The event, part of National Digital Inclusion Week which runs from October 6-10, is being hosted by the NEW B.O.O.S.T.™ (Building Opportunities for Overlooked Sustainable Talent) for Hidden Talent Digital Navigator Network. The NEW B.O.O.S.T.™ initiative is a partnership between African Heritage Inc. and New North Inc., the regional economic development corporation for the 18 counties of Northeast Wisconsin, and aims to expand digital access and literacy by supporting a network of community navigators.
New North was selected this past June as one of only 383 recipients in the U.S. of a Community Challenge Grant from AARP. Since the grant was announced, more than 15 partners across the region have engaged with New North. Additional collaborators are actively being sought; any organization or individual who serves the community through assistance with computer/internet access and digital literacy training opportunities – or who would like to start – is a good fit to be a partner of the initiative. This includes organizations where digital skilling isn’t the primary focus, but who encounter clients needing these services and want access to resources and a community of practice.
Interested organizations can sign up for the NEW B.O.O.S.T.™ Digital Navigator Network at https://forms.office.com/r/t1Gp2QnAcb. Virtual training sessions are being held twice a month: on the first Friday from 9-10 a.m. and on the third Wednesday from 11 a.m.-12 p.m. In-person, customized training opportunities also are being supported.
