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VICENZA

the third meeting for older people engaged in the EuCoNet programme

The EuCoNET project (the European computer network for making the Internet accessible to older people) is a European Union programme, which aims to expand computer technology learning among older people. It presupposes the ability to perform basic tasks in computer use, with progressive expansion of PC skills to enable the sharing of information among the older people from the individual countries of the European Union taking part, and for them to meet up with one another. The project is part of the Socrates – Grundtvig 2 programme, financed by the European Union.

For older people from western countries who have already been perfecting their computer skills for 15 – 20 years and have the necessary language skills (whether thanks to it being their mother tongue or through life-long use of the language) it is no problem to perform any of the EuCoNet tasks. For older people who have lived behind the Iron Curtain for 50 years, however, it remains pioneering work and represents a demanding and expensive hobby.

The first two meetings (in Ulm and Brno) showed the determination of older people from the Czech Republic and Slovakia to make up for lost time and hold their own in the area of work on computer within the EuCoNet programme under university patronage.

The third meeting was held 19 – 22 June 2003 in Vicenza, Italy. Vicenza is a town with a population of around 150,000, listed by UNESCO, located halfway between Venice and Verona, with a wonderful panorama formed by the imposing limestone Dolomites.

The inexorable conference programme did not, however, allow for a stop-off in the mountains, since it demanded our participation from first thing in the morning until late into the evening. The delegations greeted one another in a friendly atmosphere and “hello” was heard everywhere as those taking part met up with people they had already got to know at the previous gatherings. The meeting was run by Carmen Stadelhofer from the ZAWIW centre at Ulm University, who acts as co-ordinator of the EuCoNet programme.

Over two days the representatives of the individual delegations presented the results of their work in engaging older people in their countries in PC learning and work on PC.

Each of the delegations taking part presented its programme for spreading teaching for older people. For the purposes of comparison I can state that in western countries around 20 % of older people own and use a PC, while in the Czech Republic this figure is a mere 5 %, and in Slovakia just 2 % of older people.

We found all the information presented extremely interesting and inspiring. Group discussions were held on the final day of the meeting on the method and form to be applied in shaping the EuCoNet programme in the future.

Discussion topics for e-learning for older people to be considered at the next meeting in Glasgow were also put forward. What topics might the older people of Europe find a common interest in?

1. How to share the riches of the world.
2. What does the European community mean for the old.
3. Finding an acceptable term to refer to older people.
4. Inter-generational relations, particular in relation to the Internet.
5. The experiences and expectations of older people on computer courses.
6. Courses for grandparents in choosing the right computer games and playing them with their grandchildren.
7. What we have learned and what is the reality of life.

These are no simple topics to try to cover even in our own language (Czech), let alone in English and in the form of e-learning on PC. Will we manage it?

The working schedule of the conference might indicate that there was no time left over for fun and relaxation. There was. We found the Italians to be a musical nation. Every evening we had the pleasure of hearing one of Vicenza’s choirs. The greatest surprise awaiting us, however, was an invitation to the “Teatro Olimpico” (a listed UNESCO monument), where the orchestra of the local theatre accompanied the young and fascinating soprano Gabriela Costa, who sang arias from operas by Rossini, Verdi, Mozart, Offenbach and Wagner. It was an unforgettable experience.The working schedule of the conference might indicate that there was no time left over for fun and relaxation. There was. We found the Italians to be a musical nation. Every evening we had the pleasure of hearing one of Vicenza’s choirs. The greatest surprise awaiting us, however, was an invitation to the “Teatro Olimpico” (a listed UNESCO monument), where the orchestra of the local theatre accompanied the young and fascinating soprano Gabriela Costa, who sang arias from operas by Rossini, Verdi, Mozart, Offenbach and Wagner. It was an unforgettable experience.

A guided tour of the town also provided us with a great deal of new information about the local palaces and works by the architect Palladio, stretching like a thread as far as Padua. We visited this city on the final day of our trip. The chance of walking in the footsteps of the most creative periods of Italian history – the Gothic and Renaissance – was a truly wonderful experience for us all. We stood on sites where Galileo Galilei lived and worked at Padua University, and touched the tombstone of Saint Anthony in the wonderful Gothic-Renaissance basilica, with a prayer for the good health and success of our loved ones.

Full of the most beautiful impressions, we returned to Vicenza on our final evening, where we said our farewells to our friends over dinner at an ecological farm. All having agreed that Italian cuisine is the best in the world, we said goodbye to Vicenza, gave our thanks for the beautiful reception we had received in Italy, and most importantly said goodbye to all our friends from the various delegations.

Arrivederci Vicenza


The meeting was a practical example of what membership of the European Union will bring us (and not just older people).

Ing. Eva Matoušková