Canadian Community Networks Conference "Steps Towards the Future" By Shady Kanfi Realtime Online Ottawa, 1400 hr, Aug. 16, '94. Notes from the Tuesday workshop discussion. Regional Associations: Discussions quickly turned to the previous speech by Michael Gillespie on the scope of freenet formation in the province of Manitoba. Delegates felt factors such as a high level of consensus and close associations with provincial telcos provided opportunities not necessarily available elsewhere. Ontario, it was suggested, was fragmented in its approach making broad coordination too costly or time consuming for immediate action. Similar concerns were expressed on the federal scene. Training: Issue of reaching out to community groups was once again brought up as a topic of conversation. Suggestions centred on partnering new users, as opposed to providing them mentors, in the hopes of fulfilling both the information and communication based benefits of joining a freenet. Encouraging greater outreach to local community groups was one suggestion for any future association of freenets. One role that Telecommunities Canada could take on, is that of a clearing- house for training and community development resources. Coordination of Local Learning and Experiences: A clear need was expressed for Telecommunities Canada to play a role in assisting the redistribution of local experiences. One suggestion was for a central store of technical learning, especially with regards to software development, to be set up for local groups to access. Associated with this suggestion is the requirement that a software option be developed that enabled open distribution of additions and fixes. This could be accomplished either through a national negotiation for the open use of Freeport software, or the development of alternative software. A second suggestion was for the distribution, in hard copy form, of local institutional experiences. A need was identified among those not yet on-line to have access to the experiences and solutions that various local groups have developed. One solution was the development of a newsletter that could inform those both on and off-line of developments in the Canadian freenet community. -- Realtime Online - Professional Conference Reporting Team Rosaleen Dickson, Ottawa ac174@freenet.carleton.ca. Pierre Bourque, Michel Careau, Shady Kanfi, Charles King, Andrea Kujala, Jules Lafrance, Bruce MacDonald, Robt Rattey, Natalie Roth, Michael Silvestrini, Stephen Toy.