LocationsE-Seniors on Board: Ensuring Digital Inclusion for Older Persons
November 13, 2024
How can we make sure that all age groups have the necessary knowledge and skills to navigate the digital world?
“You are never too old to learn something new!” - was a common conclusion of older people from a two-day training on digital literacy and basic digital skills. The trainings sessions were organized in three selected pilot municipalities in partnership with the local associations of retired people and the municipalities. Huge interest expressed by over 120 participants was a proof that living in an increasingly digitalized world, where elderly often struggle with technology due to physical, cognitive, and psychological factors, place older persons at risk of being excluded in comparison to the persons born in the digital age.
“So glad to be part of this much – needed training. I am familiar with Viber and Facebook, and I often used them to send pictures to my family and get informed, but I needed other additional digital skills. I would like to learn how to pay my bills online – do not want to bother with long waiting lines in the post office or in the banks!” - says Gorica S., 80 years old retired radio journalist from Skopje, one of the participants of the training.
The trainings were conducted as per carefully designed and developed methodology to put digital knowledge at the service of the elderly, a group of citizens affected by the acceleration of the digital transformation experienced in recent years. "Shopping, medical consultations, access to municipal services – with pandemic that fast-forwarded this process, as well as more and more digitalization of the world around us, many everyday activities have become more complicated for the less digitally literate," – says Antoaneta Petrovska, the certified trainer for digital literacy and digital skills. “Digital inclusion needs to make participation of all ages technically and practically possible," Antoaneta says. "It also requires older persons to remain open, learn to live and work with digital tools. Like in so many areas, intergenerational support – here from young to old – is fundamental."
Here the correlation is made by the current studies that demonstrated that social technology use can be beneficial for older persons. Greater technology use was associated with better self-rated health, fewer chronic conditions, higher subjective well-being, and lower depression.
As digitalization is one of the most powerful drivers and potential enablers of positive change across generations contributing towards healthy and dignified ageing, it is essential to provide such kind of lifelong learning opportunities, and social participations in all surroundings.
“Coming from an agriculture community and still doing some field works, we need to relate with the outside world. Yes, younger members of the family are helping us, but we want to be independent and informed. It is more than necessity, to learn and to know how we can search for the most accurate weather forecast – that is very important for farmers like us.” – underlines Zoran Stojcevski, 68-year farmer from the Municipality of Zrnovci – a rural area in the eastern part of the country.
Partnerships with local municipalities are crucial for providing equal opportunities and support mechanisms for all.
“As seniors face significant barriers to accessing digital technologies and the benefits they provide, it is more than important to work on digital inclusion policies can tackle this issue. Local communities are place where elderly feel secure and free to get involved in those sorts of initiatives. We will continue to work on diversity and Inclusion as key pillars that will drive greater digital equity for all ages.” – says Ana Gjuroska, coordinator in the Municipality of Kisela Voda in Skopje.
The initiative is part from UNDP’s efforts aiming at “bringing” digital inclusion to a greater number of people. To achieve this, a series of training sessions and mentorship programmes are being implemented to facilitate access, offer knowledge, and provide ongoing support in the use of technologies to this segment of the population promoting healthy, independent ageing and a higher quality of life.
