CIRA announces $1.25M in funding for Canadian internet projects

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) announced the 21 projects that will be receiving funding from its Community Investment Program; totaling $1.25 million in funding.

CIRA, a not-for-profit whose mission is to manage the .ca internet domain, awards annual funding to not-for-profits, charities, and academic institutions who are developing projects to help with digital literacy, internet infrastructure, internet access, and online services.

Maureen James, manager of the Community Investment Program for CIRA.

“The general purpose of funding projects like these is meant to support initiatives that bring the internet to Canadians that help them get online and then make the most of that online experience,” said Maureen James, the manager of the Community Investment Program, in an interview with itbusiness.ca. “So we tend to focus on infrastructure access, digital literacy projects, as well as engagement and online services. ”

Some of the noteworthy projects that were awarded funding included: AI for Education, an initiative to provide teachers with the materials needed to teach their students about AI, Mamawapowin Community Network, a project to upgrade and expand wireless infrastructure in Samson Cree First Nation, and a project from Orillia Christian Centre focused on providing internet access and digital literacy training to the homeless.

“I think what stood out was that they really go that distance to actually connecting communities to the internet… whether that’s providing them with a computer, whether that’s providing them with infrastructure, such as wireless access or actual broadband and, and ways that help them get over gaps that they currently have,” James said about the recipients.

One thing that James said stood out to her was that this year’s recipients represented all of Canada much more than any other year. In the past most of the projects were in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia, but this year saw the first recipients from New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador.

“We’ve always had a good crop of projects to look at from Ontario, Quebec, and also British Columbia,” said James. “But this year, we seem to have probably the best diversity we’ve seen so far.”

Including this years funding, CIRA has doled out $6.7 million in grants overall to a total of 151 projects.

 

Would you recommend this article?

Share

Thanks for taking the time to let us know what you think of this article!
We'd love to hear your opinion about this or any other story you read in our publication.


Jim Love, Chief Content Officer, IT World Canada

Featured Download

Buckley Smith
Buckley Smithhttps://www.itbusiness.ca
Staff writer for IT World Canada. Covering the world of technology as it applies to business. Buckley is an avid sports fan who loves travel, food, and music. Can be contacted at [email protected] or 416-290-2000.

Featured Story

How the CTO can Maintain Cloud Momentum Across the Enterprise

Embracing cloud is easy for some individuals. But embedding widespread cloud adoption at the enterprise level is...

Related Tech News

Get ITBusiness Delivered

Our experienced team of journalists brings you engaging content targeted to IT professionals and line-of-business executives delivered directly to your inbox.

Featured Tech Jobs