Over 500 elderly people from Romania participated in workshops for acquiring digital skills
• 512 elderly people took part in the “Connecting Generations in the Digital World” project, an initiative of the Vodafone Foundation, implemented by the King Michael I Royal Foundation in Bucharest and 10 other localities across Romania.
- 98 workshops: elderly people learned how to use applications such as WhatsApp and Facebook, share information, access and distribute entertainment content, and make online payments.
- Knowledge transfer: 20 local trainers, including 10 seniors, facilitated the workshops, strengthening digital skills and increasing the autonomy of older people in their local communities.
- Registrations for the final sessions of the project, taking place in September and October, can be made by calling the toll-free number 0800 460 001 – The Elderly Helpline.
Bucharest, 19 August 2024 – In the first nine months of the pilot project Connecting Generations in the Digital World, initiated and supported by the Vodafone Foundation through the Hi Digital programme and implemented by the King Michael I Royal Foundation, 512 seniors participated in a series of digital education workshops specially designed for them.They acquired basic digital skills and increased their autonomy and self-confidence through the 98 workshops held in Bucharest and in 10 other localities across the country (Arad, Baia Mare, Mărășești, Odorheiu Secuiesc, Pitești, Rovinari, Sfântu Gheorghe, Sibiu, Tulcea and Turnu Măgurele).
“The Hi Digital project is a European initiative of the Vodafone Foundation, addressed to people over 60, and contributes to the foundation’s mission of leaving no one behind on the journey towards a digital world. Currently, the programme is implemented in England, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Romania, and aims to improve the quality of life of older people by integrating technology into their daily lives, facilitating seniors’ social inclusion in an increasingly digitalised world, and narrowing the digital gap between generations,” stated Angela Galeța, Director of the Vodafone Foundation in Romania.
National impact of the project
In Bucharest, over 40 elderly people participated in a total of 201 group sessions to understand technology and learn how to use it to make their lives easier. During the 16 workshops held between November 2023 and July 2024, they acquired basic knowledge on how to use their own smartphones, how to use WhatsApp, Facebook, or health monitoring apps and others useful for daily life, how to share information and files, how to access and share online entertainment content, how to pay their bills online, or even to learn more about artificial intelligence.
Nationwide, through the training programme for resource persons from organisations working with elderly people in the 10 localities, 20 local trainers, including 10 elderly people , facilitated the transfer of basic digital knowledge in a peer-to-peer format during the 82 workshops held between March and July, reaching nearly 472 elderly people in their communities.As a result, older participants increased their level of autonomy and developed greater safety, self-confidence, and new opportunities for exchanging ideas and experiences throughout the 943 attendances recorded.
“To be a trainer for those who have been your peers, those who have been role models for moral and professional conduct, is both an honour and a great responsibility. We, the 60+ generation, in this fast-paced digital era—when everyone needs to be connected in order to stay informed—want to keep up with technology. Our participants attend with enthusiasm, delighted by the opportunity to open a window to the virtual world and to discover this whole range of procedures, which are useful especially for those who spend more time at home, and beyond. They stay in touch with the wider community, they feel closer to people who are physically distant through images, stories and videos. In Turnu Măgurele, seniors are keeping up with technology!” shared Mariana Birjaru (61), elderly volunteer at the Community Development Association “Florian Cristescu” in Turnu Măgurele, in her role as trainer.
The project started in November 2023 and will conclude in October 2024, and elderly people are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the digital world and become active users of it.
The final sessions of the pilot project Connecting Generations in the Digital World will take place in September and October, and only during this period can interested elderly people from Bucharest and the other 10 communities still join the workshops this year.For details and registration, they can call the toll-free Elderly Helpline at 0800 460 001. Places are limited.
About The Margareta of Romania Royal Foundation
Founded in 1990 by Her Majesty Margareta, Custodian of the Romanian Crown, together with her father, King Michael, The Margareta of Romania Royal Foundation is a leading NGO that supports children, young people, and elderly people through sustainable interventions based on intergenerational experience and values. Over its 34 years of activity, the Foundation has developed numerous sustainable projects in education, community development, civil society, health, and culture, contributing to Romania’s social and spiritual renewal. The Margareta of Romania Royal Foundation supports elderly people through programs designed to improve their quality of life, involving volunteers and mobilizing institutional partners and the community, the most recent being the Fund for the Elderly, The Elderly People’s Phone, and Community Centers Generations. More details at fundatiaregala.ro/.
About the Vodafone Romania Foundation
For 25 years, we have been pooling our resources and those of our partners so that together we can build inclusive and sustainable projects. We use technology and social innovation, investing around 2 million euros annually in the development of disadvantaged communities in Romania. We modernize neonatal intensive care units and support digital education programs that prepare children and young people for the jobs of the future. Alongside the other Vodafone foundations worldwide, our goal is to improve the lives of 400 million people by 2025.
We are a Romanian non-governmental organization established in 1998, with charitable status, distinct and independent from the commercial operations of Vodafone Romania.
More details about our programmes can be found at www.fundatia-vodafone.ro, jurnaldebine.fundatia-vodafone.ro and www.facebook.com/fundatiavodafone
