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EuCoNet helps senior citizens make use of the internet.

Within a few years the majority of Europeans will have access to the internet. There is, however, some fear that elderly people will be excluded from this development. EuCoNet (European Computer Network), a project sponsored by the European Community in the framework of the Socrates-Grundtvig Programme has been created to facilitate internet access, particularly for people in their "third age".

The project group consisting of senior students from the universities of Ulm (Germany), Brno and Prague (Czech Republic), Glasgow (United Kingdom), Vicenza (Italy), Bratislava (Slovakia) and Alicante (Spain) are committed to confronting this problem.

EuCoNet is drawing up a course specially designed for older people who want to learn modern techniques by which they can exchange basic knowledge independently of time and space within so-called virtual laboratories. For this, the national groups connect with each other via the internet, using already established interfaces or by creating new ones. The instructors for these courses are recruited from unsalaried advanced senior students.

As one of the first steps, the project group produced publications devised to convince senior citizens to use the internet. All kinds of modern media, e.g. newspapers, radio and television are used to disseminate the message. In some countries Learning Cafés and Senior Councils may be used for spreading the information. Low-cost booklets and CD-roms, prepared especially for the needs of older people, help to achieve these goals.

The activities of EuCoNet have greatly increased over the past years, both in frequency and intensity. In this way the project sponsors expect to alleviate the reservations and fears that prevent the older generation in Europe from making use of the manifold applications of the computer. Persons with limited mobility could thus be spared the increasing isolation within society.

In summary, EuCoNet wants to connect senior citizens both virtually and in reality so that they can communicate with each other making use of modern technology. In a broader sense, by fulfilling these goals EuCoNet will also bridge the gaps between the generations and familiarise people from various European cultures with each other.