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Bess Stephens, HP's vice president and global director for Corporate Philanthropy and Education, oversees the company's Digital Village program.
The Baltimore Digital Village program celebrated its second anniversary last week, with a daylong series of events highlighting the program's successful initiatives for economically disadvantaged communities in the city. The program is funded and supported in large part by Hewlett-Packard Company.
Bess Stephens, HP's vice president and global director for Corporate Philanthropy and Education, oversees the company's Digital Village program. She told the Baltimore gathering that "when people of ideas and compassion come together, they can make excellent things happen."
Baltimore Digital Village (BDV) is designed to help create an "e-living" culture in which technology is available to everyone for learning, working, and playing. The program has several complementary components: five community technology centers that offer access to the Internet and provide computer skills workshops and job training; partnership with the Baltimore City Public School system to bolster academic success of the community's young people by integrating computer equipment and training into the school curriculum; and collaborations between employers and job training organizations in East Baltimore.
Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley said that with the help of HP, the city's "historic harbor is now becoming a 'digital harbor.' " Four years ago, the city had Maryland's lowest ratio of computers to kids, O'Malley explained. But now, he said, "We have the best ratio of computers to kids in the state, and HP is an important part of that."
Baltimore is one of a growing global network of communities HP is partnering with as part of its e-inclusion program. Others include a Native American tribal community near San Diego, Calif.; the city of East Palo Alto, Calif.; Dikhatole and Mogalakwena in South Africa; and Kuppam, India.
Before the anniversary celebration, Baltimore's Small Business Resource Center unveiled the BDV Small Business Development Institute program. Nicole Moore Waddell, who designed and oversees the small business development effort, recently told USBE Online that the new initiative will provide training, technology, and strategic planning assistance to 15 small businesses during a carefully structured, 12-week program. The effort, which builds on the initial success of the HP Baltimore Digital Village program, will help small businesses in East Baltimore become more competitive through the use of modern technology. In addition to training, participating businesses will receive technology from HP, including a laptop, docking station, monitor, PDA, and printer.
A virtual spokesperson for black technology, BlackEngineer aspires to serve as leading news and information provider on the advancements in black technology with deep insights into black engineering, black entrepreneurs, black education, and historically black colleges and universities (HBCU). In fact, BlackEngineer is one of the very few to promote the achievements of black technology. The Black engineer of the year awards (BEYA) is one of our successful ventures to promote black technology, progress and achievements made in black technology, and the sentiments of the Black community in the US, the UK, Caribbean, and Africa.
Black technology entrepreneurs are increasingly providing the horsepower that drives the global economy. Over the last two decades, black entrepreneurs have created more jobs, and contributed much more to the economic expansion of the Black community as a whole, than any black pastor or politician. Black entrepreneurs are taking risks and building businesses that generate economic growth and increase prosperity in underserved areas, as more minority-owned and minority-focused businesses emerge, willing to serve the financial needs of Black entrepreneurs. US Black Engineer & Information Technology magazine's annual list of Top Black Technology Entrepreneurs reflects the expanding scope of leading Black entrepreneurs in information technology, homeland security, and defense.
