When the pandemic hit in India, many of the country’s policies around vaccine roll-outs, online education and welfare services assumed universal Internet access and literacy. Yet, only 65 percent of households are connected, making essential services inaccessible to nearly one third of the population. A pattern of exclusion we’ve seen repeated around the world, and exacerbated in rural areas.

Since 2003, Ashoka Senior Fellow Osama Manzar’s Digital Empowerment Foundation has been building community-driven digital infrastructure across rural India. They have mobilized more than 15 million people to bring Internet connections & digital literacy to roughly 100 million people.

Join us on January 12, as we explore their plans to universalize Internet access as a human right, and turn digital consumers into digital citizens.

The conversation will be about 30 minutes. Bring your questions!

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