ICTs and Older Persons
The ICTs and Older Persons special track addresses the role of ICTs in combating age-based discrimination in the workplace, achieving healthier ageing, building smarter cities, ensuring the financial inclusion of older persons and supporting millions of caregivers across the world and in digital inclusion across the generations to enable the Decade of Healthy Ageing 2020–2030. This special track involved collaboration with various stakeholders that work around this matter, including Global Coalition of Aging (GCOA), Centre for Socio-Eco-Nomic Development (CSEND), E-Seniors, UN Agencies such as ITU, WHO, UN DESA and others.
The UN launched the Decade of Healthy Ageing in 2020, and on this basis, the ICTs and Older Persons special track was successfully launched at the WSIS Forum 2020, in collaboration with various stakeholders. The reference of this activity was included in the UN Secretary General Report “Follow-up to the International Year of Older Persons: Second World Assembly on Ageing” (A/75/218) submitted pursuant to General Assembly Resolution 74/125.
At the WSIS Forum 2021, a special WSIS Prize, Healthy Ageing Innovation Prize was launched on the theme of ICTs and Older Persons. The WSIS Healthy Ageing Innovation Prize is an exceptional international recognition of WSIS stakeholders as leaders for their excellence in supporting innovation that brings sustainable solutions for the ever-increasing global population of older people. 12 finalists were shortlisted with the various innovative projects to improve the lives of older people through ICTs and the winner was Age Care Technologies (United Kingdom).
The WSIS Forum 2021 Hackathon was organised virtually under the theme of Ageing Better with ICTs by ITU, GCOA, and other stakeholders like WHO, UN DESA, etc. The virtual hackathon gathered more than 1,100 participants joining from 48 countries. The hackathon ideated ICT solutions addressing four challenge areas: (i) Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline, (ii) frailty, (iii) transportation and mobility, and (iv) financial tools for longevity. Four winners from each challenge areas were awarded during a High-Level Dialogue with the presence of expert judges in field of technology and ageing. One winning team in each challenge area received a 6-month mentorship with the GCOA and their member companies as well as a $1,000 cash prize.