Ageing in the Digital Age Erasmus Project

Project Title

Ageing in the Digital Age

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for adult education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Intercultural/intergenerational education and (lifelong)learning; Health and wellbeing

Project Summary

Europe is facing a “longevity revolution”, as the number of old and very old people will increase in the coming decades: According to Eurostat, by 2060 one in three Europeans will be over 65 years old, and every 8th person will be at the age of 80 and above. Very old people will thus not be a small minority in our societies but a significant citizen group. The time has come to change the attitude towards them and to shift the focus from inabilities to opportunities and strengths.

The older generation needs to be provided with educational support to enable them to remain active members of society and face the challenges of growing old independently for as long as possible. Statistics show that senior citizens are often missing out the lifelong learning opportunities, although lifelong learning is one of the key factors of successful ageing and helps the wellbeing of seniors in later life, stimulating their social inclusion and interest in life.

As the world is transforming into a knowledge society, we increasingly rely on information delivered through computers and mobile technology devices. However, senior citizens form a large part of society that mostly lacks the required skills to participate in this development. This situation creates a growing group of disadvantaged citizens and contributes to the digital divide of European society. This imbalance also means lost opportunities, as technology can offer many ways of improving quality of life, especially for senior citizens. More than ever before, services, including public services and business transactions, are moving online. The absence of digital skills in senior population is often synonymous of social isolation, segregation in access to information and services, loss of autonomy and increased sense of inability to adapt to the society. Indeed, improving digital skills in seniors is one way of improving their quality of life through an active lifestyle and freedom of choice and decisions.

Therefore, the overall objectives of this project are to
• tackle the gap between ageing population and digital literacy and address the high necessity for digital key competences of seniors, and make digital competences more accessible to them
• strengthen and empower professionals, carers and volunteers working with senior citizens, so-called “front-liners” who are in direct and frequent contact with senior citizens to show and to explain which initiatives and programmes exist for older people to learn how to use online tools that improve their health and life quality

In order to reach this objective, the specific objectives of this strategic partnership are

1)
To implement an e-platform with an interactive database, searchable after various parameters, that describes and gives access to initiatives, tools and methods and other materials that have been identified and collected in the course of the project, concerning the promotion of digital skills for people living in the 3rd age which are needed to access public services online, to adapt to the digital-oriented world and to feel confident using online tools which help to improve their health and life quality.

2)
To elaborate a Catalogue “Ageing in the Digital Age – Best Practice Support for Digital Competences of Seniors” which will give an overview about the current situation of the specific project environment in the partners’ countries. It will be enriched with the outcomes of the transnational meetings of the four meetings in each partner country where experts from the respective national and local seniors’ education organisations, professionals, carers and volunteers working with senior citizens will discuss these issues with the representatives of our strategic partnership.

3)
To organise an online interactive Forum for exchange of experience and good practice that will promote networking and exchange activities not only among the partnership and seniors’ education organisations in their countries, but also on a European level. With new translation services, it will become possible to break down language barriers between users from different countries, and to foster exchange and assist initiatives that contribute to the European society as a whole.

The target group of our project are not only seniors’ education organisations, but also other professionals, carers and volunteers working with senior citizens. The latter are in close and direct contact with the senior citizens. However, they are usually not informed about the latest developments of ICT trainings. Our materials will provide them with an excellent source which they can use in their regular work with seniors to show and to explain which initiatives and programmes exist for older people to learn how to use online tools that improve their health and life quality.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 46150 Eur

Project Coordinator

Stowarzyszenie “EBI ASSOCIATION” & Country: PL

Project Partners

• INTEGRA INSTITUT INSTITUT ZA RAZVOJ CLOVEKOVIH POTENCIALOV VELENJE
• QUALED obcianske zdruzenie pre kvalifikáciu a vzdelávanje
• Wissenschaftsinitiative Niederösterreich (WIN)