Kansas City, MO. -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/4/2006 -- The Black Family Technology Awareness Association of Kansas City (BFTAA) will host the second Black Family Technology Awareness Week (BFTAW) in Kansas City, February 12th – 18th 2006. The BFTAW events will be held at several locations throughout the city, with the kick-off taking place Sunday, February 12, at 4:00pm at The Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Center, 3700 Blue Parkway.
This year’s Keynote speaker for the opening day will be Dr. Sandra K. Johnson. Dr. Johnson is a summa cum laude graduate of Southern University with an M.Sc. from Stanford and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Rice University. In 2002 Dr. Johnson, a 1998 National Women of Color Technology Award winner, was elected to the IBM Academy of Technology, one of only half of 1 percent of its technical staffers. She is the first Black woman to be so honored.
This campaign, for the second year in Kansas City, will expose attendees to a broad range of educational and interactive events which include: Kansas City Youth Technology Fair, Technology Expo, Seminars and Technology Panel Discussions, Kansas City African American Technology Awards, and career opportunities in technology.
A growing number of America’s black families are making technology an important part of their daily lives. They regularly use the technologies that affect most facets of their lives. In fact, nearly 50% of black families are actively using home computers and close to 30% have Internet home-access. These numbers are certainly encouraging. However, white (non-Hispanic families) have computers in over 85% of their homes and 60% have Internet home-access. This gap is quite serious.
The goal of BFTAA is to prepare more minority families to seek careers and explore business opportunities in technology as well as help them gain knowledge that will significantly improve their quality of life. “Our goal is to eliminate the technology gap (also known as the Digital Divide) for black families by getting them excited about the importance of owning a personal computer and home Internet access” said Lewis George Walker, President.
For information about Black Family Technology Awareness Week in Kansas City visit:
www.bridgethegap-kc.org
CONTACT: Lewis G. Walker
816 743-9981
E-Mail: lgwalker@sbcglobal.net