The European project Living Memory takes as a principal aim the learning of the Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) from adult persons, over than 50 years, who live in rural areas of Europe and have difficult access to these new technologies, either for their geographical, social or economic situation.

Public and privet institutions from Poland, Sweden, Austria and Spain work together to being able to realize the established functions in this project. The Education department of Provincial Council of Barcelona is the leader of the project and management and coordination responsible.

Specific objectives

• Identifying the learning projects of Information and Communication. Technologies (ICT) for adult people over than 50 years with access difficulties.
• Establishing a general European framework about digital literacy for adult people over than 50 years who live in rural areas.
• Identifying, evaluating, and dissemination of good practices of the projects and identified methodologies.
• Identifying the abilities and essential skills of adult people over than 50 years about the learning of Information and Communication Technologies.
• Disseminating by a web site of the project the content, tools and products as widely as it were possible across Europe.
• Promoting the establishment of a rural European municipality network that carry out the exchange strategies in helping adult people over than 50 years about Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).
• Encouraging actions to ensure project sustainability.

Phases

The project is divided in four phases that carry out different functions in order to obtain the established objectives.

First stage has the aim of identification European projects related to the learning of the Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) from adult people in rural areas, as well as a selection of the best good practices in this projects and a diagnosis about present situation in this ambit for each one of the four participant countries. This first stage will be coordinated by Provincial Council of Barcelona although all the partners will participate in every one of the different phases from the project.

The second phase, coordinated by the Institute Sustainable Technologies - National Research Institute in Radom, Poland, has the aim of identifying the most innovating methodologies of the projects and make a selection of the ones can be consider good practices. At the same time, the necessary abilities and capacities from adult people over than 50 years to lear the Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) will be evaluated. In this sense it will be made a guide test with different groups of adult people from each one of the four countries.

The third phaseconsists of the creation of web site with a double objective: First, to disseminate and to introduce the project and the obtained results to the maximum number of organizations and European groups interested in this educative scope. Secondly, to establish a communication and transference of knowledge and experiences channel among all the participants in the project. In addition, by means of this web site, the creation of an interactive network will be promoted where the different European rural communities can interchange information and experiences about the project.

Finally, the fourth phase has as an objective the evaluation of the project. This phase will be coordinated by the company Nova Distance GEMS AB from Sweden, who has a large experience in the evaluation of European projects.

Results

The project has identified abilities and essential skills, as well as didactic tools required to support ICT-learning for old people, and it has shown a range of “best practices”, methods and solutions and documented them. The exchange of experiences has been stimulating, but also somewhat difficult because of the differences in systems, structures, cultures and “traditions” found in the different countries. The question for Europe’s tomorrow is not just how to solve these questions in a project-based way; it will need major investments and innovative strategies taken on political levels in the different regions in Europe. The project has contributed to this tomorrow by showing ways that are accessible. Implementing this knowledge will save money and shorten the time to carry out good actions. In the final seminar in Barcelona, there was a presentation from a rural area in Sweden, the Kalmar region, which has taken strategic steps to implement IT for everyone in a big, largely rural region. The initiative included very old people (80+), in very innovative ways. We hope that it will support and stimulate the politicians and decision-makers as well as the European Commission.

The question is how to disseminate and how to implement “best practice”, new methods and good ideas in a sustainable way and how to involve the politicians and those who make the decisions.

Download the final report here

Extracted from: MEVA