21st century is marked with rapid transformation and advances in technology and ICT. We live in a completely new world now, surrounded by technological devices which make life easier for ICT literate. 21st century has also brought population aging in immense numbers. With better health, higher longevity and lower birth rates, the number of seniors in EU has increased. Since statistics show that increases in the rate of seniors will continue in the coming decades, the necessity to engage them with the changes in society, especially the changes caused by ICT, becomes crucial since it is the seniors who are the least ICT literate in today’s society.
Today, there are new concepts for everything that seniors are unfamiliar with: new socialization methods, new ways to manage money, new ways to reserve a room, new ways to shop… Seniors are sometimes at a lost to do the simplest tasks they were so skilled in the past and these changes in society related to ICT and technology are becoming obstacles to them and contribute to their social exclusion due to digital divide. Lifelong learning is an important tool for social inclusion of seniors and active aging but to access many resources they need to be ICT literate (such as signing up for activities), have e-mail accounts and use smart phones. Therefore, these two new societal changes should complement one another, not contradict each other. Seniors should learn ICT skills and use ICT as a new means for social inclusion by learning ethical dimensions and risks as well. lack of ICT knowledge makes seniors vulnerable to risks such as victimized by fraud, sharing personal information that can endanger their safety.
Technological trends should serve the needs of seniors’ social inclusion and to ensure this, seniors should have access to ITC, learn the new world and how to live in it. The Social Ethical and Privacy Needs in ICT for Older People focuses on this need as well as other EU initiatives.

In this context, objectives of this Project are:

• To compare, contrast, identify and promote good practice that can enhance seniors’ active social inclusion in social life and lifelong learning practices
• To enhance the provision of good quality learning opportunities to seniors
• To contribute to seniors’ social inclusion by using ICT in partner countries
• To develop and extend the competences of adult education providers and organizations that work with adults in general and seniors in particular
• To demonstrate the significant role ICT plays in ensuring social inclusion of seniors and their active participation in social life and lifelong learning through current practices across EU
• To present identified best practices and develop new ideas to prepare a Good Practice Resource Guide and Seniors@ICT social media channel.
• To drive social change and contribute to society’s outlook to seniors’ active involvement in society by writing and sending a report on Positive Impact of ICT on Seniors’ Social Inclusion to policy makers in adult education sphere and by providing local, regional, national and EU level dissemination activities

These objectives will be achieved with ICT for Seniors’ Social Inclusion- Seniors@ICT Project which will be conducted in a 26-month period with participation of 9 partners from 7 countries who work with seniors and expected results are:

• increased social inclusion skills for seniors
• increased ICT skills and competences for seniors
• increased competences and skills for educators in partner organizaitons
• increased capacity of partner organizations to serve seniors and inclusive EU

by

• 6 short term joint training events and 1 transnational meeting with 126 participants from 9 partners (18 participants in each event) in addition to local participants and stakeholders who attend these events
• Good Practice Resource Guide and Seniors@ICT social media channel
• Report on Positive Impact of ICT on Seniors’ Social Inclusion

Partners :

• Coordinator: BOLU VALILIGI (Turkey)
• Bolu Izzet Baysal Halk Egitimi Merkezi (Turkey)
• Active Citizens Partnership (Greece)
• PRO-MED (Poland)
• KNOW AND CAN ASSOCIATION (Bulgaria)
• Associacio Cultural Meet and Map (Spain)
• EUROPEAN DEVELOPMENT INNOVATION NETWORK (UK)
• EXPANDING HORIZONS (UK)
• Associazione Memoria Immagine (IT)