Whether rural communities flourish in coming decades or become increasingly isolated may depend, in part, on how they exploit new information technology. Such is the belief of many rural community development experts and the reason behind a new proposal between NCSA and the agriculture community. The group Lathrop was referring to consists of 70 rural community development experts who recently visited NCSA for a hands-on introduction to everything from online discussion tools to virtual reality. These institutions are proposing to establish a four-year partnership that will help rural communities throughout the Midwest, particularly in Illinois, use information technology to strengthen the economic, environmental, and social fabric of their communities. The major obstacles to economic development in rural communities are distance and dispersion, says Flora.
People are far from information and opportunity as well as from each other.
The new center hopes to shrink these geographic barriers through practical applications of information technology, especially networking and distance education tools being developed by the Alliance, that bring people together electronically. The applications may be as straightforward as virtual town meetings or as complex as long-range medical diagnosis. The goal is not to replace existing social networks but to strengthen and build new ones. Our emphasis will be on networking technology that will help people take control of their future. Rural America is undergoing wrenching change.