itea and biscuits week 2011 Wednesday, September 7, 2011 - 09:52

This year, Age UK's itea and biscuits week (19-25 September) coincides with the September Skills Festival (19 September - 8 October) - a national initiative coordinated by NIACE and World Skills London 2011, aiming to provide one million opportunities for people to try new skills by encouraging organisations across the UK to hold ‘Have a Go' activities.

Together, itea and biscuits week and the September Skills Festival will create opportunities for older people to get a taste of digital technologies - like computers, internet, mobile phones and digital cameras. As a result of last year's itea and biscuits week more than 500 organisations hosted over 1,000 technology taster and information events across the UK, which engaged 10,000 older people.

The real way in which digital technologies can transform the lives of older people for the better, can be seen through the stories of many Adult Learners' Week award winners each year, including:

Moya Rooke, aged 65, who restarted her creative writing career through a home-study computing course, despite her severe Parkinson's disease. Self conscious of her disability that causes her to shake, Moya did not want to attend college for fear of making repeated mistakes. Lacking all self-confidence, she depended on others if anything went wrong.

But one-to-one home instruction through the NewLink Project taught her to trade on eBay, upload photographs and organise files. Moreover, she is reworking plays, monologues, short stories and poems and has embarked on writing a six-episode sitcom. Moya said:

"I think any learning experience is life enhancing and what I have learned has opened up a whole new world for me. I would urge anyone who gets the chance to get a place on this course to seize the opportunity with both hands."

John Salinas, who knew nothing about computers until very recently. At the spritely age of 91, John drives to attend his adult learning class every week and has progressed rapidly from not even knowing how to plug his laptop in to using digital photography. For John, the benefits of lifelong learning are clear:

"I want to remain active in myself for my own health but also access all the information that is on computers, to benefit from community opportunities and to meet other people who are in the same boat as me. I see my computer learning as now firmly part of my life and can share what I learn with my family and show them what I can do."