Community Conversation and Connection with Tech Companies

Help build bridges and expand the communication with technology industry efforts, so that organizations and community individuals and families alike can benefit from more collaborative, creative efforts to build a more deliberate digital culture in our state.

One of the things that has been brought up more than once at EPIK community meetings in the past months has been the desire to have technology companies more involved in what the EPIK Alliance is doing. Not only do tech companies have a significant impact on the economic health of our state, but they can have a significant impact on the lives of youth (for good or ill) through products they may (or may not) provide. Parents are hungry to feel that companies care about the concerns they often have about technology. In addition, especially given the languishing talent pipeline for tech companies in our state, we think more could be done through collaborative creativity to find ways to provide youth more opportunity to have exposure to the tech industry, and perhaps help more adults build skills in that arena as well.

We are interested in expanding the circle of conversation and collaboration between tech companies, other business, government, non-profits, education – and parents and youth themselves.

We would like to learn more about innovative community engagement efforts that technology companies already have in motion. We are also interested in brainstorming potential collaborative initiatives that can foster an innovative, deliberate, positive digital culture in our state – for and with our youth.

At EPIK, we think the potential with youth and technology is yet largely untapped. Kids (and their parents) are still too often using technology primarily as consumers rather than real contributors. What about tools and initiatives for more lively and open civic involvement and service, and for more deliberate unplugged time as well?

We will continue to seek input from parents and youth and other community members as to how tech companies could help create a more deliberate, healthy, forward-looking digital culture in our state. We invite tech companies, past and present tech industry leaders, and others in this realm to join the conversation and creative collaboration EPIK was created to support.