The Grandparents on the Internet Model developed by the Fondazione Mondo Digitale returns to Castelbuono, in the Province of Palermo, thanks to the support of the Fondazione con il Sud. The first lesson will be held on Thursday, December 3 at the agricultural section of IIS Failla Tedaldi. The students are over-sixties from 5 elderly centres that will become local hubs.
“Grandparents on the Internet in the Province of Palermo: the intergenerational learning model developed by the Fondazione Mondo Digitale to promote digital skills amongst over-sixties, returns to Castelbuono thanks to the support of the Fondazione con il Sud and the determination of Mayor Antonio Tumminello.
The general objective of the project is to promote active ageing and solidarity amongst different generations through intergenerational learning activities that entail the collaboration of young men and women with their elder peers and the community at large.
The courses begin tomorrow, Thursday, December 3. The first 15 elders will return to school at the agricultural section of IIS Failla Tedaldi, directed by Headmaster Maria Cicero. Their teachers, the students, are coordinated by Prof Giuseppe Fusco. On December 15, another fifteen elders will begin the course at the high school section of the same school with coordinator Laura Donato.
At the end of the course, all the participants – grandparents, tutors and teachers – will receive a certificate of participation, which will count as educational credit for the tutors. Schools, in fact, appreciate the educational value of the project and have inserted it into their formal curricula. Teachers, on the other hand, get to prove their didactic competences as digital animators and as a specialisation in teaching the elderly.
A manual has been developed for the course ("La trama del web") that will be added to the digital literacy didactic kit for over-sixties. The manual has been written by Matteo Troia (21), one of the Italian digital Champions coordinated by Innovation Ambassador Riccardo Luna, a role developed at the EU level.
The project also includes the installation of Internet Corners in the elderly centres. This will transform the centres into local hubs available to all citizens to pursue peer education. In Castelbuono, which is situated in the Parco delle Madonie, over-sixty citizens represent over 30% of the population and are mostly women. It will be a strategic resource for the entire community.
