Community Hubs: Connecting with rural Newfoundland and Labrador

The establishment of Memorial's Community Hub network is connecting the university with communities across Newfoundland and Labrador, fostering collaboration and increasing capacity.

The Hubs, located in rural areas across the island and in Labrador, are community spaces where people can access the Internet, technology, and a place to work, study, or collaborate. By working with partners (community groups, provincial organizations, governments, educational institutions, etc.) that already operate buildings in communities, the Community Hubs program is able to provide financial support for technology, Internet access, other equipment, and/or programming support to increase access and opportunity within existing spaces.

As of March 2023, there are 10 Community Hubs.

"Each Community Hub looks a little different, because each community has its own culture and personality, as well as its own needs and challenges," said Joanne Rowe, project co-ordinator. "We collaborate with communities in existing structures to increase access and capacity, working with each successful applicant to co-design the space and determine what the support will entail."

The initiative grew out of two pilot projects undertaken by Grenfell Campus in (1) Port Saunders, in partnership with the Northern Peninsula (Mekap'sk) Mi'kmaq Band and Norpen Status of Women's Council; and (2) in St. George's, in partnership with the St. George's Indian Band. These hubs were established in response to both the challenges faced by students adapting to the online learning environment during the COVID-19 lockdowns, and from the university's desire to continue building community-university connections.

On 21 March 2022, Memorial hosted a live Q&A over Zoom for anyone who had questions about the Community Hubs project and application process. You can watch the recording of this session on the Harris Centre's YouTube channel, by clicking here.