Today, courses begin in Rome, Bologna and Asti. Tomorrow, over-sixty-fives will return to study in Cagliari, Catania, Reggio Calabria and Pisa, while courses will begin on Thursday in Venice and Friday in Treviso.
Thomas Achille (18) a student at the Istituto Amedeo D’Aosta in L’Aquila, the city profoundly damaged by the 2009 earthquake, extended his wishes to all the project protagonists. Notwithstanding the difficult situation, the school, managed by Headmaster Maria Chiara Marola, will open its computer labs for local elders participating in Project “Grandparents On-line.”
Project “Grandparents On-line. Stay Young at the Post Office” is a digital literacy programme for elders promoted by Poste Italiane to teach elders to use the web and familiarize with modern communication technology.
After the pilot project held in July 2015 in Rome, Naples, Mantua, Palermo, Asti and Ascoli Piceno (see Final Report Pilot Edition), in 2016, the project will be extended throughout Italy.
The courses are based on the intergenerational learning model and will be held in the computer labs of 30 schools throughout Italy, including the following cities: Catanzaro, Caserta, Mantua, Catania, Pisa, Asti and Treviso.
“Grandparents On-line. Stay Young at the Post Office” is proof of the great attention that the Italian Postal System pays to social responsibility and equal opportunities in accessing new services. The initiative has a two-fold objective: promoting an active lifestyle amongst elders and catalysing the inclusion of citizens during the transition phase from a traditional to a digital economy, overcoming the digital divide.
The programme includes 15 two-hour lessons for citizens aged 65 or older who will be helped by student tutors, one for each elder, to understand how to use new technology. Moreover, with this digital literacy programme, Poste Italiane underlines the precious contribution of young men and women to fight the social and technological exclusion of elders.
The lessons will cover basic aspects of computer use, major programmes and opportunities on the Internet with specific attention to services that can be enjoyed via the web: access to information, health services, e-government, electronic payments and e-commerce.
Course tools include the didactic kit developed together with the Sapienza University Department of Linguistics.
The Poste Italiane project is developed in collaboration with the Fondazione Mondo Digitale, which specializes in the social promotion of the Digital Agenda.
