Posted: 19 September 2010 1308 hrs
SINGAPORE : The government will pump in S$4.2 million into
the Silver Infocomm Initiative to help senior citizens embrace a
digital lifestyle.
Acting Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, Lui
Tuck Yew said this amount is up from the previous funding of S$2.5
million.
Mr Lui said the increased support will help raise awareness of the
benefits of infocomm and encourage its usage among senior
citizens.
A key programme of this initiative is the Silver Infocomm
Day.
This year, Silver Infocomm Day has attracted over 5,200
registrations, which is almost double that of last year.
The event allows seniors to attend infocomm thematic workshops,
where they get to experience practical functions of infocomm.
To complement this, the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore
(IDA) has also introduced courses and training incentives to
facilitate IT learning.
Currently, there are eight Silver Infocomm Junctions that provide
senior citizens with customised IT training at affordable
rates.
Two new Silver Infocomm Junctions will be added to the current
eight facilities to serve seniors at Buona Vista and Canberra from
October and November this year.
Three more such facilities will also be set up by 2013 to meet the
growing demand for customised infocomm training.
As for those who need more encouragement to go for these IT
courses, IDA has launched a training incentive programme that
rewards seniors who complete 30 hours of IT training with an
additional $100 discount when they purchase a PC Bundle under the
Silver Gen PC Specials.
IDA is also enhancing senior citizens' access to infocomm resources
through the Silver Infocomm Hotspots (SIHs).
These Hotspots located at community clubs and wellness centres,
provide seniors with free access to computers and Internet
services.
And Mr Lui said IDA plans to set up a total of 100 Silver Infocomm
Hotspots islandwide by March 2013.
Already, 31 Hotspots are operational in the first quarter of
2010.
Mr Lui added that the government is also introducing
Intergenerational IT Bootcamps where grandparents attend infocomm
workshops together with their grandchildren.
Such bootcamps achieve the twin objectives of enhancing infocomm
literacy among senior citizens, while strengthening
inter-generational bonding. - CNA /ls
