IT Solutions for All joined the online Kick-Off meeting of Digital Skills for an Ageing Europe, a project co-financed by Erasmus+ Programme

On January 12, 2021, IT Solutions for All joined the online Kick-Off Meeting of Digital Skills for an Ageing Europe, a Project co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Commission, which brings together eight Partners from six countries (Belgium, France, Greece, Italy, the Republic of North Macedonia and Spain). The Kick-Off Meeting, hosted by E-SENIORS: INITIATION DES SENIORS AUX NTIC ASSOCIATION, was originally planned in Paris, but has been rescheduled online due to COVID-19 restrictions.
As life expectancy increases, Europe’s rapidly aging population continues to grow in number. According to the Eurostat, one in four people will be over 65 years old by 2050.
Social policies for the elderly in Europe often neglect lifelong learning, and this despite the fact that the sustainability of social protection systems relies on the autonomy and on the community participation of the elderly population. Since studies have shown that the set of skills one has diminished with age, it is clear that more attention and resources should be devoted to lifelong learning.
In addition, poor skills have been linked to greater risks of loneliness, isolation and social exclusion, which in turn are important risk factors that can lead to poor mental and physical health in elderly people, especially in the absence of family networks or insufficient family support.
The project Digital Skills for an Ageing Europe stands as a concrete response to this need, as it aims to promote active ageing by encouraging seniors to adopt a range of good practices to preserve their health through the use of new technologies.
Digital Skills for an Ageing Europe will adopt an intersectoral and gender sensitive approach and capitalise on the valuable experience of its Partners to provide the elderly with innovative and tailored training opportunities.
In particular, partners will carry out the following activities:
a) Develop a dedicated OER Platform accessible to all, free of charge, in full Open Access mode and in multilingual versions (EN, FR, GR, IT, MK, ES) where all the content produced will be published
b) Develop highly interactive e-learning courses to improve the memory and learning skills of the elderly, help them familiarise with practical services such as online shopping, and bookings, etc. with a view to improving their cognitive abilities and health, as well as preventing skill decline and dementia
c) Develop guidelines to facilitate the uptake of Digital Skills for an Ageing Europe so as to sustain project results beyond Erasmus co-financing and widen its range of impact.

For further information on Digital Skills for an Ageing Europe and other IT Solutions for All initiatives:
https://www.itsolutionsforall.org/es/ https://www.facebook.com/itsolutionsforallorg