The older generation is making an impact online

I have a close friend living abroad whose parents, now well into their 70s, have invested in a computer so as they can communicate with their daughter by email. They now email her every day and feel part of her life (and she of theirs) in a way that a weekly rushed phone call can never achieve. Email is also a lot cheaper for them than expensive long-distance calls.

There were a few hiccups when they got their computer first, but both of them are now able to use "Fred" sufficiently well to send and receive mail. Her dad is even thinking about investing in a digital camera so as he can send her photos down the line and her mum has discovered email greetings cards and has become adept at sending them for all occasions. Now, they're planning to take a few lessons to get up to speed on the Internet because they like the idea of shopping online or maybe hooking into a chat line where they can "talk" to someone on the other side of the world.

For those who grew up before the ubiquitous computer became part and parcel of every child's life, however, new technology can be very intimidating. Older people often shy away from any contact with the electronic superhighway because they assume they could never master its complexities. In fact, getting to grips with the basics usually has more to do with a lack of confidence than lack of ability. Once people get over their initial fears about wiping everything out or pressing the wrong button, they find that they are just as capable of pressing keys and getting results as youngsters a fraction of their age.

This is the international year for older people and the chairman of the national steering committee, Michael White, is hoping to scotch the myth about technology being only for younger people, before the year is ended.

White has pressed his cause with anyone who will listen, from government departments to local authorities and health boards around the State and he has convinced Microsoft to donate a number of state-of-the-art multimedia computers as prizes for older people who are already making headway in the use of computers. White wants to hear about these people and he is inviting the people themselves, or someone who knows them, to write to him with the details. "Age is not a disease or a disability, but it can be a barrier and the myths which have grown up around ageing have to be challenged," White says. "Older people have been marginalised by the information technology revolution and we want to do something about this during this year. The idea that older people are not able for computers is simply not true and as part of our programme of activities for the year we have been successful in receiving Government funding to set up a number of pilot training projects in IT for older people around the country." Some are running already; others will start in the Autumn.

"There is now an economic imperative to get people to remain in work and one of the most important aspects of this effort is the development of IT skills" he says.

"For those who have left work, the aim is to keep them in touch with a very technological world. Age is no barrier to learning. From courses that have been run and currently are being given, it has been discovered that older people often learn better when the person running the course is an older person."

`We made a case to the Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment that with the current skills shortage it was a matter of economic importance that IT skills should be taught as widely as possible and that older people should be included in this. Older people are a valuable and experienced resource and many of them could stay on in work longer or could return to work and retrain if the training was there for them. Ireland has tended to become a very young people friendly society to the detriment of older people and we feel we should be striving towards creating a society which embraces all ages," White says.

Michael White, a youthful and fit 51 (he is a former whip with Waterford Beagles and still an enthusiastic follower) is administrative principal of St Mary's National School, Ballygunner, a famous hurling village close to Waterford city. The school, which has expanded greatly in recent years with the growth of the suburbs of Waterford, now has 433 pupils. He has been principal since 1980 and before that was principal of Faithlegg National School. He is keenly interested in local history, but it was through his involvement in voluntary organisations that he has ended up chairing the national steering committee this year.

He was chairman of Waterford Community Services Council in 1981 when he was appointed by the then Minister for Health to the National Council for the Aged as a representative of the voluntary sector. Subsequently appointed to every successive council, he became chairman in 1995. The council, now the National Council for Ageing and Older People, is the statutory body which advises the Minister for Health on matters relating to older people in the State. This council has been developing policy on older people in Ireland and is facilitating the UN steering committee in its work during this year.

This autumn, Education and Living, in association with the UN Year of Older Persons and Microsoft, the computer company, will be running a competition in which one older person can win a computer and all the gear - worth around £1,000 - each month from September through December. And an older person who is leading an interesting or unusual lifestyle will be featured in this Self Discovery page.

Contact Point:

Anyone with a story to tell about an older person who has embraced new technology should write to Michael White at the International Year for Older People, 58 Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin 2.