The University of Porto promotes digital inclusion in older adults

The UP- Centro de Competências em Envelhecimento Ativo e Saudável, aka Porto4Ageing, jointly with the Santa Misericórdia do Porto, promotes digital inclusion in older adults through face-to-face training in the framework of the European project ICTskills4All. The goals are as simple: learning basic digital skills for basic tasks, such as sending an email or navigating the internet. 

Senior citizens, in particular, are more likely to lack the knowledge of the fundamentals of the digital world, and this training is targeted at boosting digital literacy among the senior population, thus promoting digital inclusion among senior citizens, all the while stimulating safe online procedures, minimizing the sense of isolation and fostering social inclusion.

The training is delivered to the beneficiaries of the Social Centre Shelter D. Manuel Martins and the Casa da Rua - D. Lopo de Almeida, with small inter-generational groups (young adults and seniors), to comply with the DGS health measures.

The U.Porto is the coordinating institution of the ICTskills4All project, which also has the collaboration of other international and professional institutions in the fields of Education, Design, Gerontology and programming.

It is worth highlighting that the "Programa Aconchego", designed by Porto City Hall jointly with Porto Academic Federation (FAP), was awarded the Innovation@Home international honour in 2018.

The prize giving ceremony was held in Quebec, Canada, during the International Technical Meeting on Ageing at Home, and John Feather, CEO of Grantmakers In Aging (GIA), handed the award to Porto City Hall representatives.

This programme is designed to help elder people age at home, combining the provision of free accommodation to young university students who help senior citizens fight solitude and isolation.

This award is aimed at disseminating good practices of assisted living for senior citizens in cities, enabling the conditions to age in place and at home. It is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and sponsored by WHO Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities and Communities and Grantmakers in Aging.

"The contribution to an active ageing among a generation where the average lifespan of the population is increasing, is also a way of preparing the city to the future", enhanced the Mayor of Porto, Rui Moreira, during the first City Friendly of the Elderly Journeys, held in Porto, last September 2019.