Tuesday, November 12, 2024 — KC Digital Drive partnered with KC Imagine to host the DIGITAL SCENE KC: STEAM Education event. This event provided a unique opportunity for digital media professionals to connect and network with the host Operation Breakthrough over drinks and a light meal.

This event showcased area nonprofits who are introducing kids and young adults to digital media and STEAM disciplines. Operation Breakthrough is a highly respected non-profit organization in the area with a long history of supporting children growing up marginalized and in poverty. Through their educational programs and Ignition Lab, their students explore career possibilities through classwork, workshops, and projects. 

During the event, attendees were able to tour the facility and network with local STEAM education professionals and students. Ron Green kicked off the event. Ron, who was at the event both in his capacity as co-organizer of Digital Scene KC Events and as Executive Director of digiSTORY KC. digiSTORY KC provides educational workshops and resources in advanced digital media skills. After, Kanon Cozad spoke on behalf of Pomerol Partners highlighting their commitment to STEAM education and Operation Breakthrough’s mission.

Carol Meyers, Digital Skills Trainer with KC Digital Drive had this to say about her first Digital Scene KC event: 

Aside from the food and drink, what I really enjoy about KC Digital Scene events is learning about all the exciting work people are doing in the digital world, and seeing the different spaces where work is being done.  The November event at Operation Breakthrough was especially interesting to me, first because of the wonderful work that Operation Breakthrough does and then the presentation about Qlik. I loved what Mr. Cozad said about the importance of a liberal arts education as a foundation for working in the digital space.  I’m looking forward to the next one – always more to learn.

The next event, DIGITAL SCENE KC: Strategic Story, will be held on Thursday, January 16th, from 5-6:30 p.m. at Overflow. Registration for this event can be found here.

Further Reading

When Your Address Determines Your Access

The June meeting of the KC Coalition for Digital Inclusion brought together four voices from the region’s affordable housing and digital equity sectors for a rich conversation on how housing stability and internet access shape each other. Health Forward Foundation’s Adriana Pecina and John Tramel, LISC Greater Kansas City Executive Director Geoff Jolly, Hispanic Economic Development Corporation (HEDC) Executive Director Pedro Zamora, and Phoenix Family Program Manager Jessica Welch joined KC Digital Drive Digital Inclusion Program Manager Leslie Scott to explore what it means to live at the intersection of two of Kansas City’s most persistent inequities.

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How Researchers Address the Digital Divide Through Social Drivers of Health

In recognition of May as “Research Month”, Children’s Mercy Research Institute’s division of Health Services and Outcomes Research organized several “Lunch and Learn” sessions to highlight important topics for their researchers. The final session focused on the challenge of representative studies for improving both for quality and reach. KC Digital Drive worked with the CMRI team to provide further context for the session’s presentation, but also to help them create a version of Digital Drive’s Digital Divide Simulation (DDS) so that the researchers could see first-hand the circumstances which touch many of their patients and even more families beyond.

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A Laptop Means Dignity: Empire Dreams and KC Public Library Close a Device Gap

Not everyone building a business has a laptop. For Empire Dreams entrepreneurs, that gap was a wall. A connection through KC Digital Drive brought them to KC Public Library’s Chromebook lending program. Three weeks later, program participants weren’t pitching on phones anymore. They were building decks, creating marketing plans, and feeling official.

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