“Because I am older and I want to be connected.” This is the motto of the training program on the use of new technologies developed by SECOT and the AEB Foundation in residences and social centers of city councils throughout Spain.
In 2023, more than 2,400 people over the age of 60 received training, at no cost to them, in nearly 200 ‘Conectando mayores’ workshops held in rural and urban areas across 14 Spanish provinces.
Thanks to these training sessions led by senior volunteers, students acquire the skills to use mobile devices to establish direct contact with their families and access useful applications for all types of daily tasks, such as online banking and online shopping.
The objective of these workshops is to reduce the isolation of the beneficiaries, increase their autonomy, and improve their quality of life. Learning how to use WhatsApp, make a Bizum payment, or shop online are some of the topics covered.
Alejandra Kindelán, president of the AEB and its foundation, states that “we want to bring new technologies closer to all groups because they are very powerful tools for facilitating our daily lives.”
“Being included in society, feeling useful and autonomous, are part of the enormous benefits that older people obtain in this unique program taught by volunteer former senior executives from SECOT throughout Spain,” explains its president, Fernando Sobrini.
