Broadband internet is essential to participate in school now that most schools will be closed for long periods of time due to COVID-19. Students without access to the internet and devices are being left behind. The digital divide is growing and inequities are growing with it.
Image of hands typing from Women of Color in Tech Chat.
This is affecting students everywhere - in big cities, rural areas, tribal reservations, and suburbs of all sizes. Race and income level are driving factors in determining who has access and who doesn’t.
Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that
“Everyone has a right to education.”
In 2016, the UN declared the internet a human right with the addition of
Section 32 to Article 19: Article 19: “Everyone has the right to freedom
of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions
without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and
ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” Section 32: “The
promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the Internet”
Hi. My name is Zel. I was motivated to make this website because the digital divide has a deep and often invisible negative impact. I think everyone should be able to participate and express themselves on the internet.