Extension Directors and Administrators from the 5 regions of the
Cooperative Extension Section participated in last Friday's Next Generation Extension - Learning for Leaders',
A Leader's Guide to Natural Disasters. Nick Place, University of Florida Dean and Director of Extension and ECOP's Liaison to the
Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN) Executive Committee, guided the conversation. To explore how Florida's Extension leaders leveraged EDEN resources to reduce the impact of Hurricanes Michael and Irma and how Nebraska Extension leaders are relying on EDEN to lift up volunteer centers to help relieve the effects of the recent "bomb cyclone" related flooding, go to recording go to
https://youtu.be/XJefcUoKujc and view the
PowerPoint. ECOP thanks
all of the presenters and participants for demonstrating how federal, state, community, and land-grant university post-disaster resources are linked to a proactively well-prepared Extension workforce. Stay tuned for the release of EDEN's new website and quarterly newsletter.
Save the date of 5/3/19, 3-4:00 p.m. ET for the next CES conversation; the topic is Well Connected Communities, Wave 2.
ECOP Meets This Week - The the representative leadership of the
Cooperative Extension Section is meeting this week, April 11-12 in Blacksburg, Virginia. Ed Jones, Chair and host, will lead the meeting of national decision-makers; 3 representatives from each region. National office staffing 2020 and beyond, resource and partnership development, and the futuring of Extension are the featured agenda items.
Click here to view the complete agenda and collection of written reports. Stay tuned when next week's
ECOP Monday Minute will feature the actions taken during the meeting. The
ECOP Calendar lists the remaining meetings of 2019. Send agenda inquiries to your
ECOP Representative or to Executive Director Rick Klemme at
rickklemme@extension.org.
Countdown to Award Nominations Continues - Remember to move the nominations along for the National Cooperative Extension Awards. Only about 15 working days left to submit. The deadline is
5:00 p.m. Pacific Time, 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, May 1, 2019. Go to
www.aplu.org/CESawards or contact Sandy Ruble
sandyruble@extension.org for more information.
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The 4‑H club in Quincy, Washington gathering data from their peers,
parents, teachers and community members to help them determine how
they want to pursue digital skills training in their communities.
Click Here for more examples. |
4-H and Microsoft Bridging the Digital Divide through 4-H Tech Changemakers - According to the
Federal Communications Commission at least 24 million people in America’s rural communities don’t have access to high speed broadband internet, and millions more lack the digital skills needed to utilize this important tool. National 4-H Council and
Microsoft, in partnership with the Southern Rural Development Center, the National Digital Education Extension Team and Cooperative Extension, including Georgia 4-H, are working together to help teens address this issue through the 4-H Tech Changemakers program. In this program, 4-H teens in 15 states are working with their communities to identify local needs and create action plans for using digital skills to help people thrive in a digital economy and benefit from high-speed connectivity. This summer Tech Changemakers stories along with materials for teaching your communities and 4-H’ers digital skills will be shared through the 4-H.org website and other platforms. For more information please contact Jennifer DePasquale at National 4-H Council at
jdepasquale@fourhcouncil.edu.
Rural eConnectivity Pilot Program (ReConnect Program) - Recently Acting Assistant to Agriculture Secretary for Rural Development Joel Baxley announced that USDA Rural Development will begin accepting the first round of application for the Rural eConnectivity Pilot Program (ReConnect Program) on April 23, 2019. USDA is making available up to $200 million in grants, $200 million in loan and grant combinations, and $200 million in low-interest loans. Use the link
https://www.usda.gov/reconnect to note deadlines, learn more and to apply.
