WATPA is the Westchester Alliance for Telecommunications and Public Access, now just twenty years old. Although it functions as the regional Internet society, it was set up a time that many people had not heard of the Internet, so we ended up with what now seems to be a much more complicated name.
I was a co-founder of WATPA and have been its chairman, so a few weeks ago WDFH radio station interviewed me about the history and role of the non-profit group.
As they summarized it:
Norm Jacknis from the Westchester Alliance for Telecommunications and Public Access (WATPA) discusses how his volunteer group helps nonprofits in the area with their internet needs. WATPA also advises municipalities on cable TV and Internet-related issues and public policy.
The interview tells the story. You can hear it at http://wdfh.org/audio/ifrt/gg-2013-03-18.mp3
Aside from the services and hopefully creative approaches to using the Internet, there is a key lesson that applies to any part of the country (or world): It does not take a lot of money or an army of volunteers to get a lot done, particularly for those groups – non-profits – that don’t have resources of their own.
© 2013 Norman Jacknis
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