24 OCTOBER 2003

From: John Hammer <jhammer@cni.org
 Date: Mon Oct 27, 2003  4:07:04 PM US/Eastern
 Subject: [NHA-ANNOUNCE]  Digital Promise Project Report
 ________________________________________________________________
 NHA-ANNOUNCE UPDATE, 27 October 2003
 by John Hammer and Jessica Jones of the National Humanities Alliance

 o Digital Promise Project Report
 ________________________________________________________________

 The final report of the Digital Promise Project was delivered last
 week to Congress.  As you may recall, the Digital Promise Project is
 aimed at persuading Congress to devote a significant portion of the
 billions of dollars the federal government will receive from the sale
 of broad band radio spectrum to improving and developing sophisticated
 new information technologies with the aim of significantly advancing
 American education through the use of technology.

 The NHA board endorsed the proposal and NHA has been active in
 promoting the humanities and the interests of scholars in the project.
  The recommendations to Congress include many of the priorities that
 NHA and its consultants had sought (e.g., digitizing collections of
 universities, museums, libraries, and cultural institutions).

 While it is still problematic as to whether Congress will establish a
 Digital Opportunity Investment Trust (DOIT) as proposed, great
 progress has been made in making the case that DO IT would serve the
 American public and improve education.

 An executive summary is attached.  The remainder of the report can be
 downloaded on-line at: <http://www.digitalpromise.org/index.asp.