Ensuring Active Social Engagement of the Elderly in North Rhine-Westphalia
In an effort to ensure digital participation for older people and combat the risk of social exclusion, local service centers are being proposed as part of a plan by SPD state parliamentarian Sonja Bongers. These centers are aimed at addressing the digital exclusion experienced by some seniors and contributing to the sustainability of digital offers for older people.
The digital participation of older people is crucial for their social life and daily life management. Many studies have shown that the group of older people is at risk of being left behind by digitization, and such a situation may result in great difficulty managing daily lives for seniors who cannot use digital technology.
Bongers emphasized the importance of offering opportunities for digital use and qualification for seniors. She believes that digital learning and experience centers can help seniors participate in communication and avoid social exclusion. Such centers are expected to contribute significantly to helping seniors avoid social exclusion.
Current initiatives and support systems in Germany to improve the digital participation of older people include government-led programs, local projects, and academic-community partnerships focused on digital skills acquisition, access, and support. Key initiatives are:
- DigitalPakt Alter (Digital Pact for Older People): This program, led by the Federal Ministry for Senior Citizens, collaborates with federal and state governments, businesses, research institutions, and civil society. It establishes local contact points—over 300 across Germany—where volunteers have helped approximately 64,000 older adults gain basic digital skills.
- Digitaler Engel PLUS (Digital Angel PLUS): This project provides local, personalized, and concrete guidance through mobile advisory teams traveling in two buses throughout Germany, especially targeting rural areas.
- Community Initiatives such as "Digitale Hilfe" in Munich: Partnership projects involving universities and city administrations provide specific digital aid to seniors, using innovative tools like AI-driven "digital help boxes" to make learning user-friendly and less intimidating.
- Micro-Projects and Local Programs: Municipalities such as Radebeul promote various micro-projects to encourage self-determined participation of older adults in social life, including digital education activities alongside art, exercise, and games.
Research also emphasizes that social support systems play a crucial role in successful digital learning for older adults, particularly for vulnerable subgroups such as those living alone or with limited education or financial resources. Tailored digital literacy training for these groups can help bridge the digital divide and improve social inclusion.
The local service centers, if established, could provide devices with internet access that seniors can use independently. These centers are intended to help seniors use online services more confidently and naturally. Bongers stated that municipalities need state support with a startup aid of at least three years for the establishment and qualification of digital learning and experience centers.
Such support is necessary for the creation of sustainable offers for digital participation of older people. The local service centers are an additional measure to support the digital learning and experience centers for seniors. Those who cannot move confidently and naturally in the network are increasingly excluded from social life, and these centers aim to help seniors manage their daily lives more effectively.
- Science and technology play a vital role in combating the digital exclusion experienced by some seniors, particularly in terms of daily life management and social interaction.
- To ensure effective digital participation among older people, there's a growing emphasis on providing opportunities for education-and-self-development in digital skills, including the establishment of digital learning and experience centers.
- Mental-health is also a major concern when addressing digital exclusion among older adults, as successful digital learning often relies on social support systems.
- In conclusion, to promote health-and-wellness and prevent aging-related issues such as social isolation, it's crucial to support initiatives that enable older people to confidently and comfortably use digital technology, such as the proposed local service centers with internet-enabled devices.
