During a town hall meeting last Wednesday on what is being done to bridge the "digital divide," business and community leaders agreed there is still a great deal of work that needs to be done to ensure technology access for all Americans. The town hall meeting, "Building a Bridge to the Information Superhighway: Solutions for Closing the Digital Divide," was hosted by UNITY: Journalists of Color and sponsored by Microsoft Corp. "Communities of color often have been left behind in having equal access to resources, and technology has proven to be no different," said Jackie Greene, president of UNITY: Journalists of Color and director of Technology Planning and Fulfillment at USA Today. "Tonight�s town hall discussion proved to be a valuable resource in identifying ways that the public, private and nonprofit sectors can work together to bridge the digital divide."

Moderator Joie Chen of CBS Evening News began the discussion by asking panelists to help define the term "digital divide." The near consensus among panelists was that the definition included a significant gap in access to technology for communities of color � at home and at work and in school systems where children of color are the majority. Communities of color were broadly defined as African-Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans and Hispanic Americans. The evening included participation from audience members, who shared information about ways they are involved in their communities. Programs discussed included grass-roots organizations such as Computers 4 Students and the local librarian organization Public Library Directors Committee. Members from both groups explained how they are working with the public and private sector to provide technology resources to young people and the elderly and job training services in the community.