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Pilot Project Completed, 10 SEC Schools Join Program
Doha - Qatar ,May 12, 2015
The elderly will soon enjoy better access to, use and benefit from information and communication technologies (ICT) with the help of their children and younger relatives who will teach them how to use and perceive these technologies, according to Wasla; an intergenerational ICT learning program launched today by the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (ictQATAR).
Wasla, which translates as 'link' in Arabic, is wrapped into a larger Digital Inclusion Strategy launched last May by ictQATAR. That Strategy, which stays in alignment with the Qatar National Vision 2030 Human Development Pillar, wants to ensure that all segments of the society in Qatar have access to and can use and benefit from ICTs.
Qatar is home for around 45000 people aged 60 and over and nearly 55000 students aged 15-18, according to the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics. Those older people might have long been digitally isolated due to lack of knowledge of how to use ICTs.
In Wasla, a volunteer program, ictQATAR backed by program partners seek to bridge that digital generation gap by encouraging those youth, through program partners, to teach their older parents how to use and perceive ICTs in order for them to be part of the digital society in the State of Qatar.
By so doing, Wasla will not only help include the elderly into the digital society by raising their ICT awareness, but also contribute to stronger family relationships.
"Wasla is a part of ictQATAR's plans to cultivate digital literacy for all people in Qatar in alignment with government steps toward building a knowledge-based society as detailed in the Qatar National Vision 2030," Ms. Reem Al-Mansoori, Assistant Undersecretary of Digital Society Development, ictQATAR, said in a speech at the launching event held at the InterContinental Doha the City Hotel.
Addressing officials from the Supreme Education Council (SEC), QF, Qatar Assistive Technology Center (Mada), UNESCO and the Qatar Foundation for Elderly People Care (IHSAN), Al-Mansoori said, "This effort will remain incomplete unless fully backed and boosted by all stakeholders whose expertise will be of a great value to the program."
Partnership with the SEC was praised, "I'd like to appreciate the efforts exerted by our partners in the SEC for continuously supporting our programs by incorporating them into scholastic extracurricular activities, thus helping our children build good, positive character traits through volunteering."
In her remarks, Ms. Fawzia Al-Khater, Director of the SEC Education Institute, said, "Literacy no longer means being able to only read and write if you are still digitally illiterate."
"Digital literacy has become an end goal for nations that seek to build modern, knowledge-based societies. They do so by increasing their populations' ICT knowledge and skills. That is exactly what the State of Qatar has been doing mainly by facilitating everyone's access to ICTs and educating them how to use and benefit from ICTs," she added.
Wasla pilot project was completed successfully at three educational institutions: Qatar Academy, Newton International School and Al Maha Academy in which 43 students and 47 elderly people participated.
SEC confirmed 10 of its schools are joining the program whose developers are hopeful will be adopted and implemented by high schools, youth centers and sports clubs, which are the main source of young people.
The 3-year action plan hopes that one-third of the total number of all targeted schools and youth centers embrace the program every year.
Wasla training resources and tools were developed by ictQATAR's Digital Inclusion team and made available for use by any newly joining entity. This includes guidelines for program implementers; namely the young people, resources for the target beneficiaries; namely the elderly, as well as resources for the schools, youth centers and sports clubs that would be interested in joining the program.
ictQATAR is pleased to invite private and international schools and youth centers to join Wasla program. Independent schools can join the program directly through the SEC. Private and international schools and youth centers can join the program by emailing ictQATAR's Digital Inclusion team at: digitalinclusion@ict.gov.qa.
Noteworthy, the Digital Inclusion Strategy aims at raising ICT awareness of five segments of the society, which might be digitally isolated due to little to no ICT knowledge. Those segments are women, transient workers, the disabled, the elderly and small communities outside of Doha -- and there are ictQATAR programs and initiatives for each segment..
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ABOUT ictQATAR
The Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (ictQATAR) builds a vibrant, advanced, and secure ICT sector that will propel a thriving, diversified economy and benefit all the people of Qatar. As a change agent for human, social, economic, and environmental progress, the Ministry strives to drive innovation well into the future. Specifically, it is charged with a wide-ranging mandate that includes: overseeing and developing the communications sector, e-government programs and postal services; fostering a regulatory environment that is conducive to competition and investment; promoting digital inclusion for all people of Qatar; and developing the next generation of infrastructure.
© Press Release 2015
