Senior citizens in Tampines now have a spanking new Silver Infocomm Junction (SIJ) to meet their IT needs. Officially opened by Minister of Information, Communications and the Arts, Mr Lui Tuck Yew, on 20 February 2011, the i-Clickz Club (www.i-clickz.org) is the ninth SIJ to be set up under the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore’s (IDA) Silver Infocomm Initiative (SII) - a S$4.2 million programme to enable senior citizens to be actively engaged in the digital age.

At the opening of the Tampines i-Clickz Club: (From left) Mr Ong Kian Min, Ms Irene Ng, Mr Mah Bow Tan, Mr Lui Tuck Yew, Mr Masagos Zulkifli and Mr Sin Boon Ann.

Mr Lui was accompanied by Members of Parliament (MP) for Tampines Group Representation Constituency Mr Mah Bow Tan, who is also the Minister for National Development; host MP Mr Masagos Zulkifli; Mr Sin Boon Ann; Mr Ong Kian Min and Ms Irene Ng.

Conveniently located across Singapore, the SIJs are IT learning hubs which offer affordable infocomm training and a customised curriculum for senior citizens. Tutorials are also available for them to enjoy a more in-depth learning experience.

The i-Clickz Club has two classrooms equipped with 12 computers each. There are also 20 computers in the common surfing area where seniors can browse the Internet or practise what they have learnt. Other facilities available at the centre include photocopying, video conferencing, scanning, laminating, faxing and printing.

Mr Mohamed Yoonus: I have to attend courses regularly to pick things up faster. That is why I come here.

The centre offers IT courses covering a broad range of topics.  “They can start with a basic course on how to use a computer, and then go on to e-Communications where they will learn how to use email, instant messaging, and applications like Skype to keep in touch with each other and with their relatives,” said Mr Ken Lim, a volunteer trainer with the centre.

Other courses available at i-Clickz include Digital Photo Management, e-Travel, Social Networking, MS Office 2007, Adobe Photoshop and more.

Attending one of Mr Lim’s courses on basic computing was Mr Mohamed Yoonus, 70, a retired money changer. Mr Yoonus had “inherited” his son’s desktop when the latter bought a notebook computer, and now uses it to check out news web sites.  “I have to attend courses regularly to pick things up faster. That is why I come here,” he said. 

As an added incentive to encourage senior citizens to pick up IT skills, those who complete 30 hours of IT training at the SIJs will each receive a S$100 subsidy from IDA to purchase PCs. IDA also works with industry partners Addon Systems Pte Ltd, iKnow Pte Ltd and Pluto Technology Pte Ltd to come up with PC bundles that are priced competitively for these seniors. The aim is to defray the cost of PCs for senior citizens, lowering the barriers for them to buy a computer to help them hone their newly-acquired IT skills.

During the opening of the i-Clickz Club, the three partners were on hand to showcase some of their Silver Gen PC Specials. They attracted the interest of senior citizens like Mr Quek Heng Soon, 70, a retired technician from Singapore Power, who had attended computer lessons previously but forgotten what he had learnt because he did not have a PC at home to practise. “I want to pick up computer skills again and learn how to use things like Facebook,” he said. “And after that I will buy a computer as some of these offers are really very good.”

Mr Quek Heng Soon (left) checks out the Silver Gen PC Specials during the i-Clickz opening.

Besides the SIJs and the Silver Infocomm PC Incentive Scheme, another initiative by the SII is to set up Silver Infocomm Hotspots where senior citizens can get convenient and free access to computers and Internet services. Currently, 34 hotspots have been set up at various Community Clubs, self-help group centres and Residents’ Committees. The aim is to establish 100 Silver Infocomm Hotspots islandwide by March 2013.

And to further enhance the infocomm learning experience of senior citizens, IDA, industry partners and the community have been organising the annual Silver Infocomm Day. Since 2007, more than 9,000 senior citizens have attended the three-in-one event, which comprises of talks, exhibitions and hands-on training sessions.

Taking the learning of IT to another level is the Inter-generational IT Boot Camp. Held in collaboration with various schools, these boot camps aim to bring students and their grandparents together through hands-on IT workshops on topics such as “Getting Started on Facebook”, “Chinese Text Input with Handwriting Tablet”, and “Infocomm Tools for Health Management”

By fulfilling the desire of senior citizens to build closer ties with their grandchildren and spurring their interest to learn at these boot camps, IDA hopes to encourage continued training and infocomm usage among the elderly.

Click here for more information on IDA's Silver Infocomm Initiative.