Thanks to the senior digital literacy enhancement project 'Telemouse', the network of elderly centres of the 12th district of Rome is coming to life.

Telemouse is an initiative of non-profit organisation 'Fondazione Mondo Digitale' and it is supported by an Italian telecommunications company. The project aims to promote the use of new technologies by seniors through the establishment of 'Internet Corners' in the municipal centres for the Elderly.

Under the pre-existing 'Grandparent on the Internet' project, IT courses are held in the computer labs of various schools in Rome. Each school hosts a class of approx. 25 over-sixty students registered in various elderly centres. The school students give free-of-charge classes (15 weekly lessons of 2 hours each) to the seniors under the coordination of an IT teacher. With to the Internet Corners, the Telemouse project thus takes the 'Grandparent on the Internet' initiative further; the course participants can continue practising their news skills outside of the classroom, at their municipality's elderly centre. 

Cecilia Stajano from the Foundation has been touring in Rome's centres for the Elderly to check the progress on the Telemouse project. On 8 July 2010 she visited the social centre for the Elderly of Vitinia, in the 12th district of Rome. The district hosts 174 000 residents, 24 % of which are above 60 years-old.

On this occasion Mr. Sergio, Vitinia's centre manager pointed out that since the launch of the 'Internet Corner ' - three networked computers - the centre has become an organisational centre of activities, including day trips, which are planned and prepared online in order to provide participants which as much information as possible.

The new challenge is the achievement of the network of elderly centres of the district, which will enable the sharing of experiences and solutions. It is worth noting that Rome's 12th district has 10 elderly centres counting over 7 500 members in total, that is, the highest percentage of over-sixty residents (24.3%).

It is worth adding that the Fondazione Mondo Digitale is a partner and the coordinator of the parties involved in a project named 'Silver' which aims to create a sustainable digital literacy life long learning programme for the adult population and to solve this new form of illiteracy to contrast the risk of a social and communication caesura between the young and the elderly. In the context of the Community Action Programme for Continuous Learning, Italy, Spain, Romania and Belgium are experimenting with a continuous learning programme for adults addressing no less than 100 seniors, 500 student tutors and 50 teachers.

 

Further information: 

• Original news article - Fondazione Mondo Digitale
• Related news article - Fondazione Mondo Digitale
• Silver project