The North Carolina Rural Center is hosting a five-part series of virtual talks covering key issues reaching rural communities across the state.

Each session in the Rural Talk series features a panel of public, private and nonprofit leaders discussing topical issues for 45 minutes, followed by a Q&A session. Events will be held on Zoom every Thursday at 11 a.m. from May 7 to June 4.

The series is divided into five topics:

  • May 7: Rural Broadband
  • May 14: Rural Small Business Development
  • May 21: Rural Health
  • May 28: Rural Housing
  • June 4: Rural Water and Wastewater Infrastructure

The speaker lineup includes a mix of state and local government representatives, directors of nonprofits and entrepreneurial support programs, and leaders of municipal groups and economic development organizations.

The program is part of NC Rural Center’s Rural Counts advocacy initiative, which addresses broadband, healthcare, entrepreneurship and small business investment, education, water, natural gas, manufacturing, agriculture, regional partnerships and rural development funding.

As an organization that serves the state’s rural communities, the NC Rural Center recognizes that limited broadband access impacts constituents’ ability to connect virtually while social distancing in the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s why the Rural Center has added a call-in function to the webinar series for attendees who can’t connect via Zoom.

“We want to ensure that anyone interested in rural broadband, entrepreneurship and small-business development, health, housing, and water and wastewater infrastructure will have the opportunity to participate in the series,” says NC Rural Center Director of Advocacy Brandy Bynum Dawson. “However, we recognize that due to the challenges around broadband access, not all of our rural constituents would be able to engage online, so we have added a call-in option to the series.”

Dawson adds, “Knowing the other challenges presented by COVID-19, we are exploring additional ways to make this crucial information accessible.”

Around 200 participants are registered per session so far, but Dawson expects those numbers to increase in the coming weeks.

Registration is free but required for attendance.

https://wraltechwire.com/event/rural-talk-an-advocacy-speaker-series/all/