December the 11th, 2020 – The older generation will get a helping hand when it comes to technological advancements thanks to Croatian Telecom/Hrvatski Telekom, who will launch a national digital education programme intended precisely for them.
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, under the current and increasingly tiresome anti-epidemic measures, nursing homes were forced to severely restrict visits from family members, friends and volunteers. Thus, social contacts and socialising, which have always played a key role in the daily lives of the residents of nursing homes, were lessened dramatically, replaced by an unfortunate and considerable sense of loneliness and isolation, which is especially difficult as the festive season approaches.
Aware of this problem, Croatian Telecom, in cooperation with the Volunteer Center Zagreb, has launched a national digital education programme designed for the elderly. During the first phase of the national digital education program, which is part of a broader socially responsible “In Good Hands/U Dobrim Rukama” concept, the company donated tablets and free internet for fourteen homes for the elderly throughout Croatia, and next year, the programme will continue to expand in order to include additional such homes.
Members of the Croatian Telecom Volunteer Club also participate in the national digital education programme, and the will prepare easy-to-understand educational videos through which senior citizens will easily be able learn how to use various digital tools that will allow them to be connected and remain in constant contact with their families and friends throughout this difficult time. In the first video, the residents of fourteen homes for the elderly in the City of Zagreb will learn how to establish WhatsApp video calls on their tablets. Educational video materials will be continuously upgraded and will soon be published on the official channels of Croatian Telecom.
“Digital tools are here to make our lives easier. Unfortunately, a large number of our senior citizens don’t have enough digital skills to be able to take advantage of them. That’s why we see the digital education programme for senior citizens as fulfilling our mission of connecting everyone in Croatia with the possibilities of digitalisation and building a world of better opportunities. We want to teach them how to use digital tools like video calls through which they can hear and see their loved ones much more often. At Croatian Telecom, we’re aware of our important role in ensuring equal access to technology for everyone in Croatia, and we aren’t going to stop until we achieve this,” said Ivan Bartulovic, a member of the Human Resources Management Board of CT.
“The digital education project has recognised a very vulnerable group of citizens during the epidemic and the closure of society – residents of homes for the elderly, who, in these unfortunate circumstances, are almost completely cut off from their loved ones. Volunteer Centre Zagreb recognises the value of the project and we look forward to its positive impact on their quality of life,” said Nina Butic Ivankovic, Executive Director of the Volunteer Centre Zagreb.
We’re all aware that nothing can replace contacts and socialising in person, but thanks to technology, in moments when we can’t be together, older and more vulnerable members of our society can open their doors to the digital world and remove their sense of loneliness and isolation and replace it with digital connectivity and inclusion.
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