Teachers and co-ordinators from various schools in Qatar attending the Wasla workshops.

More than 60 teachers and co-ordinators of various subjects from 45 schools have attended training sessions in the intergenerational information and communication technology (ICT) learning programme for the elderly (Wasla).
Four interactive workshops were organised by the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology’s (ictQATAR) Digital Society Department in collaboration with the Supreme Education Council.
Launched by ictQATAR in May, Wasla - which means “link” in Arabic - is a learning programme aimed at teaching the elderly in the country how to access and benefit from ICT. Their children and younger relatives serve as “digital champions” who assist and teach them how to use these technologies.
The workshops were attended by around 23 teachers, co-ordinators and academic advisers from several independent schools and 37 IT and community action service (CAS) co-ordinators from 22 international and private schools. Some youth centre
representatives were also present.
Featuring presentations and discussions, the workshops educated the attendees on Wasla topics and best practices and helped them better understand the programme’s vision, mission and expected outcomes.
The sessions, held at the Community College in Qatar, offered a platform for teachers and co-ordinators to obtain hands-on experience of how to fully use the programme.
Attendees also exchanged views on key relevant topics such as older people’s ICT learning and support needs, barriers to ICT learning and motivations to continue
learning.
The sessions also explored the guidelines for digital champions who are typically high school students aged 15-18 and who are required to spend around 30 hours of training with their older relatives as part of their mandatory CAS course.
Sessions also covered other materials such as older trainees’ guidelines, assignments, exercises, and school booklets, which explain how to monitor and facilitate efforts.
Wasla is part of the larger Digital Inclusion Strategy launched last May by ictQATAR in alignment with the Qatar National Vision 2030 Human Development Pillar, which aims to ensure that all segments of society in Qatar have access to the benefits of ICT.
Qatar is home to around 45,000 people aged 60 and over and nearly 55,000 students aged 15-18, according to the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics. The elderly have long been isolated due to lack of knowledge of how to use digital technologies.
Wasla is a volunteer programme by ictQATAR backed by programme partners, which seeks to bridge the digital gap between generations by encouraging young people to teach their older relatives how to use ICTs in order to be part of  Qatar’s digital society.
Exercises for the elderly include how to create and use an e-mail, how to use mobile phones, the Internet, search engines, as well as some important portals related to everyday life like Hukoomi and Ministry of Interior’s website.