Think Kingston News Index

KANnet was formed in 1998, after a locally-funded Coopers and Lybrand sectoral analysis report identified the lack of collaborative mechanisms as a barrier to growing knowledge-based industries. The need to address several key issues identified in the reports underlay its decision to develop a connected community:

· Increase cooperation among community groups, reducing silos;
· Improve communications within the region;
· Create a broader sense of community and identity.

Beginning in 1999, KANnet has met with a wide range of community members, through workshops and presentations, in order to discuss community development and sharing resources. In spring of 2000 KANnet initiated an annual Smart Communities showcase to gain feedback from the communities about the successes and directions in the region.

“Transforming Kingston,” submitted to Industry Canada’s Smart Communities program (January 13, 2000) (Designated Smart Communities Associate.)

Connect Ontario letter of intent submitted to Ministry of Energy, Science and Technology (Approved July, 2001)

Connect Ontario funding request submitted July, 2002 (under review).

KANnet’s first CAP sites were deployed in 2001, and its software began to be displayed later that year, under the proposal “Transforming Kingston: Proposal for 8-site network of community access centers in Kingston.”

Youth Interns at CAP

Kingston’s CAP Youth Interns have been actively involved in extending the Think Kingston website.

The youth interns are keenly increasing general community content web pages to extend the Think Kingston site. They are improving the overall design of the pages. The Think Kingston site has been growing in leaps and bounds since it’s inception.

They are currently focusing on creating pages for both the cultural section and multi- cultural portion of the site. CAP Internet trainers have joined forces with the Kingston Area Network (KANNET) in a collaborative website effort to provide a place on the web for resources within the Kingston community. KANnet's website, www.thinkkingston.com. This website helps the Kingston community and outlying areas by supporting Kingston's web-based projects.

This Community Doorway unites sites of Community based organizations such as The City of Kingston, Kingston Economic Development Corporation, Kingston Frontenac Public Library, local hospitals and schools. As the Think Kingston site develops, our CAP interns will continue to update the site with pertinent information regarding the needs of community such as promoting resources of various groups and organizations in and around Kingston.

The Youth interns have been working with the Kingston Cultural Initiative. The Kingston Cultural Initiative helps the Kingston area thrive as a tourist destination for the arts, heritage and culture, and to develop a cultural business centre that will enrich the community by creating new economic benefits and new opportunities for cultural growth and expression. They are helping to create and populate a database of resources and new contacts made in the community with musicians, visual artists and cultural organizations.

The youth interns are designing several new pages to be added upon their completion, to the Tkinkkingston.com website. The new pages will consist of a "learning resource" section, a culture section, a "multi-cultural" section as well as a music section. The "learning resource" section will consist of a database of a wide variety of educational centres, from adult literacy to public awareness campaigns. The music and culture sections will have resources such as performers, venues, education as they relate to those sections. The "multi-cultural" section will celebrate the Kingston area's diversity with information that benefits the wide range of ethnic backgrounds in the community.