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ICT for inclusion: Challenges and opportunities for bridging the ICT divide

Abstract:

Active ageing is proposed as a comprehensive solution for the senior collective in Europe, to ensure a better standard of living for this group. ICT will play a major role in assisting the elderly to manage their lifestyles, and thus make active ageing feasible. However, there is still an important number of individuals who do not enjoy the benefits of ICT. It is widely believed that in order to achieve the inclusion of senior citizens in the Information Society, the digital divide associated with age must be greatly reduced. This seems feasible as this heterogeneous collective seems especially motivated to learn how to use ICT to their best abilities. Empowering senior citizens, by providing personalised information, both in terms of ICT and healthcare knowledge, to keep healthy could be regarded as a potential solution. Stakeholders in policy making and advocacy need to be closely involved in promoting active ageing programmes that make use of ICT, and there needs to be more active cooperation between people and the institutions in charge of social policy. © 2009 The European Community and IOS Press. All rights reserved.