Connections increase digital connectivity in the Rivers to the Plains region

Blog post by Australian Rural Leadership Foundation

A group of Leading Australian Resilient Communities (LARC) graduates from the NSW- Victorian border is taking on a complex issue which threatens their community’s wellbeing.

Through the Bridge the Digital Divide Between Country and City project, the Rivers to the Plains LARC cohort is focusing on digital connectivity, aiming to ensure projects impacting the region allow for access limitations while addressing the region’s expanding digital economy. A group of Leading Australian Resilient Communities (LARC) graduates from the NSW- Victorian border is taking on a complex issue which threatens their community’s wellbeing.

Through the Bridge the Digital Divide Between Country and City project, the Rivers to the Plains LARC cohort is focusing on digital connectivity, aiming to ensure projects impacting the region allow for access limitations while addressing the region’s expanding digital economy.

It’s part of the LARC program, with the Rivers to the Plains one of ten regions targeted across the country, recognising difficulties endured in the form of drought, floods, and border closures during the pandemic.

Funded by the Australian Government’s $5 million Building Resilient Regional Leaders Initiative – and delivered by the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation (ARLF) in partnership with the Regional Australia Institute (RAI) – LARC aims to support regional communities to meet challenges and collectively drive community resilience.

Operating her own communications business, Upstream Communications, from her Albury home, LARC graduate Julia Brown sees clearly that services in Australia contribute to the digital divide during change.

“…we need to look back and see who is left behind. Rather than leaping from project to project…having forgotten those left behind,” she says.

The LARC working group found a growing gap between urban and rural connectivity, with local Indigenous, migrant, disability, low income, and aged communities most exposed. The situation was exacerbated by rural bank branch closures, the reliance on online employment services, and the need to access services like Telehealth.

Continue reading here.

To learn more about the LARC program, visit their website or YouTube via the links below.