Charities Newsletter
Issue 6

Digital Unite (DU) is partnering with Ofcom to deliver the sixth annual Silver Surfers' Day, on the Friday of Adult Learners' Week, May 25th.  Devised in 2002 by DU, SSD is the biggest annual media literacy campaign aimed at older people.

Media literacy, in today's digital age, is more important than ever. It can facilitate a more convenient, cheaper, community-rich lifestyle. Older people, who have so much to gain from the online world, are still largely missing out. SSD O7 will reach many thousands of older people in hundreds of locations around the UK and do something very tangible about redressing that imbalance.

SSD 07 encourages organisations, individuals, families, employers (anyone at all with an online computer) to offer to help older people have a good first experience of the Internet at a local Event. Event Holders offer their time and gentle guidance in short taster sessions.

DU, media literacy experts for older people, offers free resources for Event Holders, large or small, on www.silversurfersday.org

Once someone has had a first good experience, they can generally progress:
'I didn't use it [the Net] much at all before the tasters, now I'm using it daily,' said Doreen at Harrow Library.

'Media literacy is like a moving walkway; once you've stepped on, you, too, progress as it moves forward, and you're "away".  But if there's no one there to help you embark, you're left further and further behind as others move on.' Emma Solomon, MD, Digital Unite.