The Council on Foundations Fall Conference for Community Foundations in San Antonio brought together hundreds of high-profile Community Foundation representatives for a three-day event (Oct. 5-7) to discuss creating transformative change in our nation’s largest cities to its most rural communities. The Council on Foundations is a national nonprofit association of approximately 2,000 grant-making foundations and corporations that strive to increase the effectiveness, stewardship and accountability of its sector while providing members with services and support necessary for success.

Several Knight Center of Digital Excellence connected community success stories were showcased during the conference. Knight Center Community Program Consultant James Farstad featured the accomplishments of Miami Mayor Manny Diaz and the Miami Dade Broadband Coalition in a presentation about the challenges and opportunities associated with meeting the information needs in large communities. Farstad spoke about Mayor Diaz’s vision for a 21st-century community and how the Knight Center’s unique approach has helped Miami-Dade accelerate efforts to achieve key broadband goals.

Other breakout sessions showcased innovative Knight Center activities in Akron, Ohio, and Milledgeville, Ga. Akron Deputy Mayor David Lieberth demonstrated his city’s commitment to exemplify strategies to meet the information needs of mid-sized cities, and Jim Wolfgang, Director of the Digital Innovation Group at Georgia College, focused on Milledgeville during his discussion on how small cities can uniquely meet their needs.

The importance of access to information and the new role of individuals as information contributors was stressed throughout the conference, with discussions focusing on how new media, libraries and broadband access are crucial to ensuring a consistent, two-way flow of information within a community.

“Informing Communities: Sustaining democracy in the Digital Age,” a report by The Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy, was introduced, and provided an outstanding perspective on how “information is as vital to the healthy functioning of communities as clean air, safe streets, good schools and public health.”

According to the report, “America needs ‘informed communities,’ places where the information ecology meets people’s personal and civic information needs. This means people have the news and information they need to take advantage of life’s opportunities for themselves and their families. They need information to participate fully in our system of self-government, to stand up and be heard. Driving this vision are the critical democratic values of openness, inclusion, participation, empowerment, and the common pursuit of truth and the public interest.”

Presenters were able to demonstrate how the Knight Center’s efforts in numerous communities across the nation have provided citizens with the new media and broadband technology necessary to maintain open information streams. Attendees were able to see how the Knight Center is demonstrating its ability to accelerate the creation of connected communities by helping them develop strategies and leverage information technologies to drive civic progress and economic development.