■ Jacquie Cremona Crossey

The National Policy forActive Ageing hashighlighted the issueof digital inclusion inlater life as a priority

area both nationally and at theEU-level. In pursuit of this pol-icy priority, MITA and the Parlia-mentary Secretary for the Rightsof Persons with Disability andActive Ageing are launching apilot project that will explore theeffectiveness of peer training forolder citizens within their owncommunity environment.

Through this new initiative,MITA aims to empower more cit-izens aged 65 and over to addressthe challenges of digital inclusionin later life. MITA has recruited ateam of older citizens who will betrained in different approaches inmethodologies that will enablethem to deliver a short courseabout basic Digital Literacy skillsto their peers. These actions willhelp to increase digital confi-dence and awareness of older cit-izens whilst bridging the gapbetween the generations by mak-ing the latest technology and jar-gon more understandable. Thisshould increase older citizens’ in-dependence when carrying outbasic digital tasks and transformthem into active members of thetechnological era.

During the course, participantswill learn how to navigate the In-ternet, send emails, participate inSocial Media platforms, chat viavideo and voice applications, theutility of e-Government, e-Com-merce and e-Banking. Other top-ics which will be covered will

include using technology to takeup further personal interests,learning, pursuing hobbies andentertainment online.

Research and experience haveshown that tablets are the pre-ferred tool for disseminating in-

formation to citizens 65 and over. Therefore, MITA is actively

seeking industry partners whoare willing to contribute to thisinitiative through the sponsor-ship of the hardware and Internetdongles. Any interested parties

are asked to visit the MITA web-site for further information onpartnering in this rewarding ini-tiative at www.mita.go.mt/old-ercitizens or through

oldercitizens.mita@gov.mt

Jacquie Cremona Crossey is anExecutive at the Digital Outreach

Unit at MITA

The Malta Independent | Thursday 4 December 2014 1312 The Malta Independent | Thursday 4 December 2014

The use of technologycan have various ad-vantages on how welive and we must en-sure that these benefits

are accessible to everyone. Thiswas the main message from thisweek’s event held by the Foun-dation for IT Accessibility (FITA)which started off with an exhibi-tion of some assistive technolo-gies that can enable people with

different abilities to use the com-puter. The event continued withan explanation of some of theuseful projects and inactivatesundertaken by the foundationover the last months.

MITA, in collaboration with theParliamentary Secretariat forRights of Persons with

Disability and Active Ageing, isorganising a new project aimed atreducing the digital divide

amongst older citizens. TheAgency believes that digital in-clusion in later life is a priorityarea and is therefore seeking in-dustry collaborators to partnerfor the sponsorship of a numberof related devices.

The joys of the festive seasoncan easily be shadowed by an on-line transaction gone wrong. Weare therefore providing somehelpful security tips to enjoy the

holiday season in a safe(r) way.

All ICT Features are available onwww.mita.gov.mt/ictfeature

The Malta Independent ICT Feature

RoderickSpiteri

Roderick Spiteri is Marketing andCommunications Manager at

MITA and editor of MaltaIndependent ICT feature

Calling industry players fordigital inclusion and active ageing

H.E. The President of MaltaMarie Louise Coleiro Precatogether with ParlamentrySecretary Hon Dr Jose Herreraand Hon Kristy Debono,presided the Annual GeneralMeeting of the Foundation forInformation TechnologyAccessibility (FITA).

“It is important that whoever isproviding ICT services,appreciate and implementeffective ICT accessibilitymechanisms in order to have amore inclusive society throughthe use of technology.” stressedH.E. The President of Malta whilethanking FITA, the private sector,government departments andpersons with disability for theirdedication and tangible actions.

This year’s FITA AGM was pre-ceded by a mini Expo to whichlocal organisations and suppliersof accessible ICT products wereinvited. During the activity a livedemonstration of ICT accessibil-ity products was showcased,where visitors were able to trythe products and evaluate howthey could benefit from them.Some of these products are alsopart of the FITA ICT pool and canbe borrowed all year round fromFITA. The mini Expo also in-cluded a number of presentationsabout ongoing projects and ac-cessibility aspects which drew alot of interest.

Ms Elizabeth Olivieri, Chairper-son of FITA addressed thosepresent and thanked the

esteemed guests, for theircontinued support. She alsothanked Mr. Tony Sultana,MITA’s Executive Chairman forthe support that MITA regularlygives to FITA.

Ms. Olivieri described howFITA has a reltively wideportfolio of services andinitiatives geared at addressingboth disabled persons and alsoeducators and employers whoseek to enhance the accessibility

of their services. She also urgeddisability NGOs and serviceproviders to make use of thesetools and opportunities providedby FITA.

As per Government’s vision inthis sector, FITA can collaboratewith private and public sectorentities to ensure that morepersons with disabilities can beintegrated into various jobs andinitiatives. This will be done byimproving the ICT knowledge

and skills of persons withdisability through FITA’s variousprogrammes and also bysuggesting applicable ICTplatforms for entities to operatemore inclusivly.

Mr Stanley M Debono, FITACEO delivered an overview ofFITA’s activities, including theuse of the MSE over the years andthe benefits for entities like localbanks and their clients fromusing FITA’s ICT Accessibility

Certification services. Mr TonyBorg and Mr Joseph Cauchi, bothFITA service users, deliveredshort presentations outlininghow they benefited from FITAICT Training and FITA’s ICTAccessibility Consultancyrespectively.

Opposition Spokesperson forCompetitiveness and EconomicGrowth, Hon Kristy Debono,explained how important it isthat more individuals get toknow about FITA’s work andhow this is benefitting largeamounts of disabled personsthrough increased accessibility.

Hon. Herrera, ParliamentarySecretary for Competitivenessand Economic Growth,commented how the training andICT solutions must be used forpersons with disability to gener-ate exposure to work opportuni-ties. This will not only lead tofinancial independence, but asFITA experienced directlythrough its own ICT courses, anincreased level of self confidence.“These people that are workingwholeheartedly to gain qualifica-tions and maximise their poten-tial” he said.

Persons with disability have in-creased access to education andrightly so, now have higher ex-pectations. It is therefore impor-tant that they are given equalopportunities for work, so theywill continue to become moreproductive and contribute moreactively in society.

Follow these simple informationsecurity tips and enjoy the holi-day season in a safe way.

Do Your ResearchWhether online shopping, donat-ing to charities, or tracking yourgifts, do your research to makesure the company you are work-ing with is legitimate.• Do an online search of the com-

pany you’re buying items fromto see if there’s any news aboutrecent risks

• Go to the company’s home-page to make sure it is a gen-uine business

• Instead of clicking on a link inan email for a shopping deal,visit the site directly

Analyse AppsBefore downloading a new app,review it to make sure you knowexactly what you’re putting onyour smartphone.• Only download apps from an

official app store and not athird party

• If the app requests too manypermissions, do not downloadit. It may be requesting accessto information on your phonethat you would prefer to keepprivate, and certainly more in-formation than it needs

• Use antivirus software

Bank CarefullyPeople are spending more moneyduring the holidays than they doall year. Cyber criminals may tryand use this fact to more easilyscam consumers.• If your bank calls requesting in-

formation, hang up and callthem back through the officialmain phone number. It’s im-

portant to talk to your bankerthrough the official number soyou know it is legitimate

• When withdrawing money, beaware of your surroundings.Check to make sure that youare in a safe place to enter yourinformation. If anything looksamiss, leave

• Inspect the ATM for loose wires

or machine parts that may havebeen tampered with. This couldindicate hackers trying to fixthe machine for their benefit

Stay InformedHoliday season or not, cyberscams and identity theft happenvery frequently throughout theyear. Now that shopping season

has begun and the danger isheightened, it is important to con-stantly be aware of new cyber-at-tacks or threats in themarketplace.• Follow breaking news stories

for new security breaches tostay alert and be on top of yourgame

• Only shop for holiday gifts atretailers you know have notbeen compromised

• Check your credit card state-ments often to make sure thatyou were not affected.

Educate Your EmployeesYou’ll want to make sure thatyour employees know how toprotect themselves, and their de-vices with your sensitive com-pany information – at all times,but especially during this hecticholiday travel and shopping sea-son when devices are more likelyto get misplaced and people lettheir guard down.• Ensure devices are secured

with complex passcodes toallow access to smartphones,tablets or laptops

• Share the most common scamsthat exist around the holidayswith your employees so theyknow what to be on the look-out for and how to stay pro-tected.

Towards a more inclusivesociety through the use of ICT

Stay protected and have a happy and safe holiday season