Digital and Media Education for Elderly People (BR0128)

Brief description of the commitment

Define, in an intersectoral and participatory way, a curriculum reference for digital and media education for the elderly, guaranteeing their protagonism, whose implementation can be monitored and evaluated.

Problem Definition

1. What problem does the commitment aim to solve?

The commitment seeks to tackle the central challenge of promoting digital and media education for elderly people in an intersectoral way, ensuring that they play a leading role throughout the process. According to data from the Census/2022, recently presented by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), around 32 million elderly people are over the age of 60, the legally established age for a person to be considered elderly, under Law No. 10,741 of 2003, which establishes the Statute of the Elderly Person. These people live in different regions of Brazil, in urban and rural areas, with different socio-economic, educational, working, and cultural backgrounds. The Continuous PNAD 2022 (IBGE) highlighted that although the illiteracy rate in Brazil fell from 6.1% to 5.6% from 2019 to 2022, the country still has 9.6 million illiterate people. This significant contingent is made up mainly of elderly people: 54.1% (5.2 million). If color/race is included in the analysis, the illiteracy rate among white elderly people was 9.3%, while among black or brown people it reached 23.3%. A nationwide survey carried out by Sesc São Paulo and the Perseu Abramo Foundation, from January to March 2020, found that elderly Brazilians feel excluded from the digital world and many have difficulty reading and writing, due to low schooling, illiteracy, or functional illiteracy. In terms of digital exclusion, the data shows that 72% of the elderly population have never used an app and 62% have never used social networks. For its part, the FEBRABAN-IPESPE survey, despite having identified that, from 2020 to 2022, there was a significant increase in access to and use of the internet, social networks, and apps by the elderly, a significant contingent of this social group has difficulty using technological tools, little or no knowledge and familiarity with such tools, as well as fear and insecurity in accessing the digital world. Reinforcing this perception, the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) module of the National Household Sample Survey (PNAD), published on 09.11.2023, reports that “The majority of people who did not use the Internet in 2022 had less education or were elderly (aged 60 or over). The most common reason given by people who didn’t access the Internet was that they didn’t know how to use it (47.7%). For 66.1% of the elderly who did not use the Internet, this was the main reason.” The difficulty of digital access for the elderly began with the rapid migration of face-to-face services to the digital world, without taking into account the characteristics of the public affected by the paradigm shift, in both public and private environments. As a result, a large portion of the Brazilian population, especially people aged 60 or over, have experienced digital exclusion and greater social isolation. This situation is accentuated by the constant technological transformations that are occurring exponentially in society. Added to this are difficulties with access security, the lack of public services offered in person, and the absence of digital tools and services that facilitate usability and meet the needs of the public. Especially when they need to access public services, which have undergone rapid digitalization, often with no guarantee of face-to-face service, or services offered by the banking system, elderly people face often insurmountable obstacles to using them quickly and safely, thus putting data security at risk and exposing themselves to financial scams, dependence on malicious third parties to access rights and manage their financial lives. It is important to note that, from a legal point of view, there is already provision for the digital inclusion of the elderly. Article 21 of Law No. 10,741, of October 1, 2003, which establishes the Statute of the Elderly People, provides for the inclusion, in courses aimed at the elderly, of content related to communication techniques, computing, and other technological advances, to guarantee their social inclusion. In turn, Law No. 14.533, of January 11, 2023, which establishes the National Digital Education Policy, establishes as a priority strategy, in the digital inclusion axis, “the training of digital, media and information skills, including the most vulnerable groups of citizens”. In this sense, it is understood that the elderly are included, due to their greater difficulty in accessing technological tools, as explained above. The data recently presented by the 2022 Population Census shows, irrefutably, the accelerated aging of the Brazilian population. Corroborating this trend, demographic projections indicate that, by 2050, around 30% of our population will be aged 60 or over,and the fastest-growing group will be the long-lived, aged 80 or over. Given Brazil’s current and future demographic scenario, it is imperative that public, private, and third-sector agents join forces to promote digital and media education for the elderly, with the aim of ensuring respect for their human rights, access to citizenship rights, and social participation on equal terms with other people in the digital world. In order to achieve this goal, it is considered opportune to draw up a curriculum reference, in an intersectoral and participatory manner, for the digital and media education of elderly people, guaranteeing their protagonism, whose implementation can be monitored and evaluated.

2. What causes the problem?

The digitization of services, both in the private and public sectors, gained strength in the middle of the last decade, accelerated by the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic which, due to the need for social isolation, demanded the development of rapid digital solutions for access to services, rights, remote working, the sale and purchase of goods, interpersonal communication, among other areas of social life. However, considering that one of the goals of digitalization is to expand and facilitate the population’s access to services, the process that the country is experiencing has achieved controversial results, since there has been no prior mapping of essential aspects to guarantee digital inclusion for all people. From this perspective, in a country with a very diverse population, historically marked by socio-economic inequalities, no account was taken, among other things, of connectivity in public and private spaces; financial conditions for acquiring electronic devices such as computers, tablets and smartphones, as well as data packages; the level of education of the Brazilian population; differences in access to digital technologies in urban and rural areas, intergenerational aspects, among others that restrict or prevent the safe, easy and equal use of new technologies by all people. In particular, there was no planning to prepare the elderly for inclusion in the digital world. This population group now accounts for 15. 8% of the Brazilian population, according to the 2022/ IBGE Census, a new reality was imposed without taking into account, among other aspects, the low level of schooling of elderly Brazilians; socio-economic conditions for acquiring technological tools; greater difficulty in using such tools intuitively; the provision of digital literacy and media education for this age group; the gradual migration of the most used services to the digital universe, while maintaining face-to-face services for clarification, guidance and carrying out the operations that the elderly person needs, if they so wish; the provision of quality connectivity in all Brazilian regions. In addition to these issues, there is a lack of effective coordination between the public, private, and third sectors to tackle and overcome these barriers. The lack of prioritization in the implementation of public policies and initiatives for digital and media education aimed at elderly people is still evident, feeding the vicious circle of digital exclusion of this significant and growing social group. The situation is also aggravated by this population’s lack of knowledge of their rights and the negative view of ageing that permeates our society. The perception of aging as a loss is largely reflected in prejudices, stereotypes, stigmas and discrimination, elements that make up the structural ageism that manifests itself strongly in relation to the elderly people.

Commitment Description

1. What has been done so far to solve the problem?

To solve the problem of the digital exclusion of the elderly, specific actions have been taken by both public authorities and private organizations aimed at the digital and media education of this social group. Occasionally, training courses are offered to groups of elderly people, either by universities, state or municipal public services, civil society organizations, or private entities, but as a rule, they do not reach a significant number of participants, due to space limitations, available equipment and the use of educational strategies that are not suitable for teaching and learning by the elderly. These initiatives have been identified in the federal, state, and municipal spheres, but no reliable information or data has been found to measure their efficacy and effectiveness. Since 2013, Paraná’s Information and Communication Technology Company - Celepar - has been offering “courses aimed at training participants in the use of modern electronic devices and internet access”.15 In the municipality of São Paulo, there are reports of digital literacy courses being offered to the elderly, funded by the Municipal Fund for the Elderly (FMPI) and run by non-profit institutions, including initiatives aimed at the most vulnerable groups. However, as Meire Cachioni, associate professor at the University of São Paulo, points out,”Evolution has occurred in parts - technically there is more access, but we live in a technological bubble. The people who have the most digital access are still the most educated and those with the best socio-economic situation. Outside the bubble, even here in the city of São Paulo, in the territories furthest from the center, we find elderly people who don’t have a cell phone or don’t know how to use it.” In the municipality of São Paulo, there are reports of digital literacy courses being offered to the elderly people, funded by the Municipal Fund for the Elderly (FMPI) and run by non-profit institutions, including initiatives aimed at the most vulnerable groups. However, as Meire Cachioni, associate professor at the University of São Paulo16 points out, “Evolution has occurred in parts - technically there is more access, but we live in a technological bubble. The people who have the most digital access are still the most educated and those with the best socio-economic situation. Outside the bubble, even here in the city of São Paulo, in the territories furthest from the center, we find elderly people who don’t have a cell phone or don’t know how to use it. Higher education institutions have been working on digital training for the elderly people. For the record, the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE) has been developing, since 2022, in the state capital, the Program to Promote Digital Health Literacy and Literacy for Elderly Community Members in the Municipality of Recife, which should continue until August 2024. Other universities and federal institutes, especially those with centers for the elderly people, are also trying to offer training in digital education. However, it should be noted that many of them serve the public on their campuses, which can inhibit or even hinder participation, due to the fear or shame of being in an academic environment or having mobility limitations for the place in which the course is offered. It is important to note that many civil society organizations offer digital training for the elderly, with reports of good acceptance by the target audience. However, when the offer is made only in the digital environment, there is already a restriction on participation by elderly people with no familiarity with technological tools or even those with low levels of education and difficulty reading or understanding the instructions given by the facilitators. One point to note is that these initiatives are usually restricted to urban areas, without people living in rural regions having access to face-to-face training. Likewise, they do not reach people who live in institutions or communities further away from the big cities, with low connectivity, and whose elderly people have experienced a variety of socio-economic deprivations throughout their lives. The problem considered crucial - the digital exclusion of elderly people - is multifaceted and, in the workshops held as part of “Commitment 6 - Digital and Media Education for Elderly People”, several other aspects were pointed out that contribute to the majority of elderly people not being able to participate actively and safely in the digital world, such as low schooling; ageism; fear and insecurity in using technological tools; living in places that are difficult to access and low connectivity. In short, as Lima and Almeida point out17 “The realization of social practices mediated by ICTs18 is not yet the reality for many elderly people in our society. Despite the significant growth of this population and the expansion of the use of ICTs, there are still no public policies that integrate elderly people into the use of these technologies, and it is up to those interested in this subject to carry out research that reflects the presence/absence of the promotion of digital literacy of these people.”

2. What solution are you proposing?

To solve the problem of the digital exclusion of the elderly, the option chosen by the Commitment participants differs from holding digital and media education courses, although we recognize the importance of these initiatives in promoting the digital inclusion of this social group. Considering the diversity and intersectionalities that characterize Brazil’s elderly population, and to reach a significant number of elderly people throughout the country, the choice made by the members of Commitment 6 was “to define, in an intersectoral and participatory manner, a curricular reference for the digital and media education of the elderly, guaranteeing their protagonism, whose implementation can be monitored and evaluated. To achieve this objective, the following actions will be carried out: 1. Creation of a working group to coordinate and articulate the mapping of references, entities, and initiatives; 2. Mapping references on skills for digital and media education, and methodologies for the effective participation of elderly people; 3. Identifying and mapping specialists, materials, and teaching content for the collaborative construction of a curriculum reference for digital and media education for elderly people; 4. Creation and publication of an online repository of materials on digital and media education for elderly people; 5. Definition of a methodology for the process of effective participation of elderly people, ensuring regional diversity, gender, race/ethnicity, people with disabilities, socio-economic profiles, and technology use profiles; 6. Creation of a preliminary version of the curriculum, guaranteeing the participation/listening of elderly people; 7. Public consultation of the preliminary version of the curriculum; 8. Publication of the final version of the curriculum framework; 9. Creation of an event/campaign to launch the curriculum framework; 10. Implementation of the curriculum reference in the MEC’s policy to combat illiteracy; 11. Creation of a content kit to disseminate the curriculum to multipliers, entities (governments, private sector, civil society, social movements), elderly people, schools; 12. Creation of a training course for multipliers, to implement the curriculum and disseminate competencies and skills with the elderly population; 13. Establishing instruments/methodologies for qualitative and impact evaluation of actions. Based on the collaborative action of those involved, representatives of government and society, it is hoped that the product developed can contribute to the dissemination of innovative practices for improving access to services and enhancing the active participation of this population in community life and in accessing and influencing public policies. 3. What results do we want to achieve by implementing this commitment? By developing a curriculum framework for media and digital education for the elderly, the aim is to ensure that the teaching-learning process is organized based on the characteristics and interests of the elderly people so that they can actively participate in the process and use the skills they have acquired and developed with confidence and security in their daily lives. It is also hoped that the use of the curriculum framework will allow knowledge about digital and media education to be disseminated more equitably, so that various players can, using the curriculum framework, promote training for elderly people in their territories. In addition, the aim is for elderly people to take part in the training to improve their critical capacity concerning information received or transmitted by technological tools. It is also hoped that the skills acquired through digital and media education will contribute to expanding spaces for the social participation of elderly people, enabling this population group to act effectively in the exercise of their rights and the definition of public policies of interest to them.

Commitment Analysis

1. How will the commitment promote transparency? N/A

2. How commitment will help promote accountability? N/A

3. How will the commitment improve citizen participation in defining, implementing, and monitoring solutions? The proposed commitment to “define, in an intersectoral and participatory manner, a curricular framework for the digital and media education of the elderly, guaranteeing their protagonism, whose implementation can be monitored and evaluated” has the potential to increase the social participation of this section of the population. Promoting and/or improving digital literacy and media education will provide elderly people with greater security and critical thinking when using digital communication and information technologies. Likewise, the appropriation of these skills will enable this social group to participate more actively in different spheres of community life (information; consultation; access to rights, engagement), since, for the most part, these instances are disseminated, articulated, and carried out virtually.

Commitment Planning (Milestone | Expected Results | Target Completion Date)

Milestone 1 - Create a working group to coordinate and articulate the mapping of references, entities and initiatives | A working group set up | January/2024

Milestone 2 - Map references on skills for digital and media education, and methodologies for the effective participation of elderly people | Document(s) produced containing the mapping of skill references and methodologies | March/2024

Milestone 3 - Map entities and specialists with expertise and possible interest in collaborating in the creation of the curriculum | Document(s) produced with list of entities and experts | March/2024

Milestone 4 - Create and publish an online repository of materials on digital and media education for elderly people | Online repository made available | June/2027

Milestone 5 - Define the methodology for the process of effective participation of elderly people, ensuring regional diversity, gender, race/ethnicity, people with disabilities, socio- economic profiles, and technology use profiles | Document produced detailing the methodology defined. | April/2024

Milestone 6 – Creation of a preliminary version of the curriculum, guaranteeing the participation/ listening of elderly people | Preliminary document of the curriculum produced | September/ 2024

Milestone 7 - Public consultation of the preliminary version of the curriculum | Public consultation carried out. | November/ 2024

Milestone 8 - Publication of the final version of the curriculum | Final curriculum document published. | February/2025

Milestone 9 - Create an event/ campaign to launch the curriculum | Initiative to launch the curriculum was carried out. | February/2025

Milestone 10 - Implement the curriculum reference in the MEC's policy to combat illiteracy | Proof document (or reference link) provided | June/2027

Milestone 11 - Create a content kit to disseminate the curriculum to multipliers, entities (governments, private sector, civil society, social movements), elderly people, schools | Content kit produced | December/ 2025

Milestone 12 - Create a training course for multipliers, to implement the curriculum and disseminate competencies and skills to the elderly population | Course created and made available | December/ 2025

Milestone 13 - Establish tools/ methodologies for qualitative and impact evaluation of actions | Document(s) produced with the tools/ methodologies | June/2027