RALEIGH — The NC Rural Center’s advocacy program, Rural Counts, will be hosting a five-part speaker series starting in May that will highlight issues of critical importance to North Carolina’s rural communities.
Rural Talk: An Advocacy Speaker Series will bring together local, state, and national perspectives on rural broadband, entrepreneurship and small-business development, health, water and wastewater infrastructure, and housing.
“We recognize that there is a nexus between our Rural Talk topics and the ongoing challenges of COVID-19,” said Rural Center Director of Advocacy Brandy Bynum Dawson. “Our panelists will be addressing how these issues intersect and the implications for rural North Carolina today and beyond.”
Rural Talk will occur every Thursday at 11 a.m. from May 7 through June 4. Each one-hour session will begin with a moderator grounding the discussion in the latest data and research surrounding the issue, and expert panelists will then further speak to potential policy responses and examples of local innovations.
Rural Talk will be hosted on the video conferencing platform, Zoom, with a call-in option also available. “We know that many of our rural communities don’t have access to affordable, high-speed broadband,” said Rural Center President Patrick Woodie. “We wholeheartedly value the inclusion of our rural constituents to participate in our session series, and we are doing everything we can to make this information accessible to all.”
Rural Talk: An Advocacy Speaker Series will be held on the following dates:
- Broadband: Thursday, May 7, from 11 a.m.-noon.
- Entrepreneurship and Small-Business Development: Thursday, May 14, from 11 a.m.-noon.
- Health: Thursday, May 21, from 11 a.m.-noon.
- Housing: Thursday, May 28, from 11 a.m.-noon.
- Water and Wastewater Infrastructure: Thursday, June 4, from 11 a.m.-noon.
This event is open to the public, but registration is required.
