Neighborhood Empowerment Network Association

From New Orleans Wiki

(This will be the directory entry for NENA, but for now it is a statement of intent for a collaboration with NENA.)

Think New Orleans offers a number of programs to help neighborhoods and nonprofits manage their information and create knowledge and understanding in their communities.

Think New Orleans can assist a neighborhood or nonprofit with productivity tools, such as calendaring, collaborative authoring and file sharing, photo journals of neighborhoods and events, and mailing list management, and email newsletters.

Think New Orleans is currently pursuing 501c3 status as a project of the Publius Foundation. Until then, is a very frugal volunteer effort that makes use of open and affordable software and the time contributions of volunteers.

For the Neighborhood Empowerment Network Association, Think New Orleans sees two key opportunities to collaborate.

First, we can bring our already successful Internet Workshops to the neighborhoods where NENA is active. These workshops are well developed. They are already hosted at Xavier University and the New Orleans Housing Resources Center. There are examples of successful neighborhood web sites like NorthWest Carrollton, that are used to communicate within neighborhoods. There will be further workshops on email, calendaring, and audio recording.

Second, we can work together to develop the concept of the Internet Help Desk. A resource for people without computers and without the desire to learn about computers, but who still need to exchange information over the Internet. The Internet Help Desk will create a knowledge base of frequently asked questions, and frequently performed tasks. Volunteer will act as librarians and help neighbors navigate the Internet bureaucracy.

Think New Orleans will work with NENA to persue funding for new technology initiatives in the neighborhoods that NENA serves.

Think New Orleans is able to offer it's services at trivial cost. Some workshops will have $10 - $25 materials fees, though many will be free.

If NENA requires graphic design or identity work, the marketing side of the Internet, Think New Orleans will help NENA find solutions, but is unable to provide such serivces for free and still garuntee that their web sites will be accssible to low-bandwith users, or visually impared users.

Think New Orleans looks forward to helping NENA expand it's capacity to help neighbors, and through NENA teach people how to use the Internet to share and create knowledge, as well as to help those with no interest in computers obtain the information they need to rebuild.