{"id":6718,"date":"2019-05-17T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-05-17T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new-www.sii.pl\/sii-power-volunteers-fighting-the-digital-divide\/"},"modified":"2020-02-27T12:01:47","modified_gmt":"2020-02-27T12:01:47","slug":"sii-power-volunteers-fighting-the-digital-divide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sii.pl\/en\/news-feed\/sii-power-volunteers-fighting-the-digital-divide\/","title":{"rendered":"Sii Power Volunteers fighting the Digital Divide"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the 14th<\/sup> time, on May 17th<\/sup>, we\u2019re celebrating the World Information Society Day. On this occasion, events dedicated to new technologies, the role of IT in the development of society, and related problems are being organized all over the globe.  Sii Volunteers decided to deal with one of such threats \u2014 the Digital Divide. \u0141ukasz Hucz, Test Engineer and Project Leader, told us more about the project carried out within the framework of the Sii Power Volunteers program. <\/strong><\/p>\n

How does the digital divide among seniors look like and why did you launch the initiative? <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u0141ukasz Hucz, Test  Engineer<\/strong>: Unlimited access to technology makes our everyday life much easier. Most of us communicate through emails, use social media, do online shopping, or try out new mobile banking apps. However, to both our parents and grandparents the world of computers remains an enigma. They didn\u2019t attend IT classes at school and never had a chance to use such equipment at work (well, maybe except typing machines). But this doesn\u2019t mean that they can\u2019t learn all that\u2014<\/strong>creating a friendly learning environment will do.<\/p>\n

For many years now, I\u2019ve been engaged in a variety of projects, including the ones run by the Piastun Foundation for Equal Opportunities. Some time ago we started the Senior Club in the Siemianowice \u015al\u0105skie Branch. Knowing that seniors are open to getting acquainted with tech solutions facilitating our lives and that I\u2019m working in IT and have considerable knowledge on this topic, I thought it was worth trying. Basically, that\u2019s how the project was conceived. Soon after it was entered for the Sii Power Volunteers program and now I\u2019m carrying it out with the Foundation.<\/p>\n

What exactly is the project about?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u0141.H.:<\/strong> The Senior Club offers training in basic computer skills. This program is adjusted to the needs of participants divided into three groups, i.e. two beginners\u2019 groups and one advanced group. We show how to use email and Microsoft Office, mainly Word and Excell, discuss Internet safety, and give practical advice on online shopping, as well as train-ticket and hotel booking.<\/p>\n

The classes are held every working Wednesday in the Piastun Foundation,  between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Thanks to Sii\u2019s support, we have five computer stations and all necessary office supplies, e.g. flipcharts, at our disposal. Also, to keep all seniors sweet, each week we\u2019re offering them some tasty treats.<\/p>\n

What does being a volunteer mean to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u0141.H.:<\/strong> It\u2019s the first project I\u2019m carrying out to help seniors. Before I took part in the organization of events for people of different age. I definitely feel satisfied seeing contented participants and knowing that the developed skills will help them a lot in their daily life. Seniors are open-minded and ready to acquire knowledge, which makes them a fun group to work with. Even one successful training session with them gives you a sense of fulfillment.<\/p>\n

Are you planning to cover new topics?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u0141.H.:<\/strong> Of course, the thematic scope of our classes isn\u2019t limited. The more volunteers, the more subject areas and interesting sessions. One presentation or weekly classes are both a great idea. We\u2019re also thinking about introducing theoretical classes to be attended by a larger group of seniors. New courses in first aid, physiotherapy, and personal development will be offered as part of the Senior Club program.<\/p>\n

Other projects focused on a digital divide among various social groups were also carried out within the framework of the Sii Power Volunteers program<\/strong>: Internet safety 50+  at Sii Pozna\u0144, IT consulting point<\/a> during Warsaw Senior Days at Sii Warsaw; projects for kids and schoolchildren: programming and robotics classes <\/a> at Sii Pozna\u0144 and IT classes for children<\/a> organized currently in a parish common room by volunteers from Sii Katowice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the 14th time, on May 17th, we\u2019re celebrating the World Information Society Day. On this occasion, events dedicated to … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":5116,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"views\/single-old-pressroom.blade.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[1182,1286,1282],"class_list":["post-6718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-power-people","tag-sii-power-volunteers","tag-esg"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_media_url":"https:\/\/sii.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/052019_PressRoom_foto-Piastun4.png","category_names":["CSR"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sii.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6718"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sii.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sii.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sii.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sii.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6718"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sii.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6718\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sii.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sii.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sii.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}