Social Innovation Fund｜Elderly X Youth X Smart Technology

In today's society, everyone has a mobile phone, whether it is used for entertainment, watching dramas, listening to music, or solving daily problems such as querying weather forecasts or traffic information, it is very convenient. However, for the elderly, learning how to operate a mobile phone requires Spend a lot of time.

The Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund (SIE Fund), which is supported by the Office of Efficiency Promotion under the Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau, has previously allocated funds to fund four innovative projects to promote cross-generational digital inclusion, allowing young people to use their digital knowledge , to help the elderly learn and use smart technology products.

The two generations deepened their understanding of each other through various activities.

The project not only helps the elderly learn how to use smart products, but also promotes youth employment, bringing a win-win effect.

The elders who participated in the project said that they are very happy to enjoy the convenience brought by today's technology, and the young people also feel that the project is very meaningful.

Everyone may wish to get acquainted with the 4 innovative projects "Leling Lak Lat GO", "Cross-Gen. Online Music", ""Evergreen" Digital Gas Station - Fun Fun Clock Needs You" and "SmartConnect Digital Peer", and introduce them to your side the elders!

"Geron La La La GO" Gerontech X Rehabilitation Training for the Elderly

Rehabilitation instructors come to teach the elderly how to use smart rehabilitation products.

The SIE Fund allocated funds to support the Hong Kong Lutheran Social Service to implement "Geron La La La GO" to encourage the elderly to use gerontech.

The project combines digital technology and occupational therapy, trains unemployed youth to become gerontech rehabilitation instructors, applies gerontech to rehabilitation training for the elderly, and develops digital home outreach rehabilitation services.

Liao Songwen, project director of the Elderly Center Group of the Hong Kong Lutheran Social Service, said: "By combining gerontech and occupational therapy, we provide services that meet the needs of the elderly. rehabilitation training."

In addition, rehabilitation instructors will also provide frail elders with training programs that integrate gerontology and occupational therapy to improve their physical and psychological development.

The project will also establish a "Digital Technology Rehabilitation Database" to store information on the application of gerontech products in rehabilitation training for reference by all sectors.

"Cross-Generation. Online Music" Helps the Elderly Use Smartphones

The "Inter-Generation. Online Music" project recruits and trains 50 youths to teach 400 elders to use digital technology.

The "Cross Generation. Online Music" promoted by the Youth Employment Network of the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups recruits and trains young people to form a "Digital Care Team" to teach the elderly to use digital technology products in elderly centers, so that the elderly can use digital technology to improve their physical health and enhance their cognition ability, and for daily leisure and entertainment purposes.

Se Min, a member of the "Digital Concern Team", said that she never thought that her daily skills of using tablet computers and smartphones could also be used to teach the elderly.

She has learned a lot of skills in getting along with and communicating with the elderly, and believes that these skills will be of great help to her future work.

"'Evergreen' Digital Gas Station - Fun Fun Clock Needs You" to address the challenges of an aging society

"Evergreen" Digital Gas Station — Fun Fun Zhong needs you to bring a variety of mobile phone learning courses and after-school mobile phone use consulting services to the elderly.

In order to enable everyone to make better use of technology and cope with the challenges brought about by aging, the Institute of Active Aging of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University launched the "'Evergreen' Digital Gas Station-Fun Fun Clock Needs You" and designed it for the elderly together with stakeholders digital training courses and after-school support activities.

In addition to general classroom training, the project will provide cognitive ability and memory training for the elderly, as well as immersion learning activities, including arranging the trained elderly to serve as volunteers to introduce how to use digital products to other elderly people.

The project also promotes intergenerational communication. Young people will provide different supports throughout the project, including helping the elders to use video media to organize and compile their personal learning experiences.

The project will also establish an evidence-based research-based cross-generational digital inclusion training model, and the relevant results will be shared with all sectors of society to help the industry enhance its ability to promote digital inclusion and encourage the continuous development of services.

"SmartConnect Digital Peer" All-round digital life proposal

"Co-construction. Digital Life Proposal" not only teaches the elderly to use digital technology, but also encourages the elderly and young people to come up with ideas to integrate digital technology into daily life.

The "SmartConnect Digital Walk" promoted by the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council Limited not only uses smartphones, but also connects young people and the elderly through different digital technologies, broadening the imagination of the elderly on digital life.

The project has four main elements: "Digital School" provides digital technology training courses and technical support for the elderly; "Mobile Digital Classroom" specially supports the elderly living in remote areas, teaching them digital technology knowledge and providing technical support; "Let the youth and the elderly cooperate and use mobile programs to complete the city's "Senior" tasks together; "Co-construction. Digital Life Proposal" matches the youth and the elderly, allowing them to use design thinking to create a digital life proposal, so that the elderly can enjoy high-quality digital life.

Uncle Huang, who is over 90 years old, participated in the "Digital Academy" to learn how to use smartphones. He said that many times in daily life today, he needs to surf the Internet.

"Friends" who are similar to his age generally don't know how to use smart phones, but he deeply understands the importance of digital knowledge and knows that "you must learn and you must not use it."

Established in 2013, the SIE Fund is supervised by the SIE Fund Task Force under the Commission on Poverty, and the Efficiency Office under the Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau is responsible for its secretariat.

The Fund aims to help alleviate poverty and social isolation in Hong Kong, promote inclusiveness, enhance the well-being of citizens, strengthen social cohesion, and create social benefits by promoting social innovation and cultivating social entrepreneurship.

(Information and photos provided by SIE Fund)