In recognition of International Literacy Day on September 8, the Flow Foundation partnered with the National Council for Senior Citizens (NCSC) to host a digital literacy awareness session with the aim of expanding what it means to be literate in our emerging digital economy.

The foundation engaged more than 100 seniors at the Church of God of Prophecy in Gregory Park, St Catherine and used the opportunity to highlight the importance of digital literacy for seniors as digital knowledge becomes an imperative in today’s society.

International Literacy Day is celebrated annually to promote literacy as a human right and a key to national development. Shelly-Ann O’Connor, Flow Foundation’s Operations and Projects Coordinator, explained that as we become more technology-dependent, our seniors require focus and inclusion to build an equitable digital society.

“As we observe International Literacy Day, we are using the opportunity to bridge the gap with digital literacy. We thought it was particularly important to partner with the National Council for Senior Citizens in educating its community on how to use the Internet as well as how to protect themselves online,” said O’Connor.

She continued, “Our seniors are particularly vulnerable given their limited digital knowledge and experience, and by promoting digital literacy, we are informing and protecting them at the same time. This is a clear alignment with our focus on digital inclusion for all Jamaicans and we were delighted with the response and engagement from the seniors in attendance.”

The digital literacy session was a lively exchange of ideas, with a focus on operating a smartphone safely and online safety best practices.

For one senior, the session was particularly memorable. Eighty-one-year-old Lillian Reid-Riley was robbed of her phone the previous day, only to be the lucky recipient of a new Samsung smartphone through her participation at the event.

Tamekia Halliman, Programme Organiser for Education and Media at the NCSC, stated that opportunities such as these build the morale of the seniors.

“One of our main goals is to ensure that our seniors are equipped to function in our digital society. They too shop, bank and pay their bills online, so many of them are vulnerable to unscrupulous people because they are not digitally advanced. We believe that today’s forum was an important step in empowering our seniors for our digital society,” said Halliman.

The Flow Foundation conducts online safety sessions throughout the year under its Connected and Protected programme. Through a long-term partnership with the NCSC, the Foundation has hosted numerous online safety sensitization sessions aimed at equipping seniors with the skills and knowledge to navigate the digital space confidently. This complements the NCSC’s mission of productive aging, which provides wide-ranging assistance in the acquisition of senior citizens’ ID cards, health and wellness programmes, skills training and retirement planning education.