How digital literacy initiatives bridge generational divide in Thailand

Government officials, academics and corporate figures convened on Tuesday to assess the progress made in Thailand, Australia and Japan within the framework of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing.

This meeting was on the sidelines of the 80th session of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP) symposium being held at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok. The five-day forum wraps up on Friday.

At the meeting on ageing societies, participants learned that with more than 13 million people or 20% of the population above the age of 60, Thailand is set to join Japan as a super-aged society by 2036. To tackle this shift in demographics, the Thailand launched an initiative to set up schools for the elderly. As of March this year, there are 2,987 schools such schools nationwide, though specific enrolment numbers remain undisclosed.

Ramrung Worawat, director-general of Thailand’s Department of Older Persons, said that one of the key objectives of these schools is to provide vocational skills for the elderly.

The curriculum prioritises retraining and upskilling, with a keen focus on utilising digital tools, smartphones and associated applications that use banking and other social services.

“These schools are community initiatives, designed to promote lifelong learning and to encourage active contribution to the community,” she said. “To empower a community and its people, we need to create age-friendly public spaces to empower older persons.”

The Ministry of Social Development and Human Security previously forged a letter of intent with ESCAP’s Asian and Pacific Training Centre for ICT for Development (APCICT) for the “Women ICT Frontier Initiative DX”.

The initiative, set to be launched on Thursday, will target older women entrepreneurs and deliver age-appropriate technology training.

Srinivas Tata, director of UNESCAP’s Social Development Division, stressed the imperative of lifelong learning. “If you want them [the elderly] active for a longer time, you have to bridge the digital divide – bridge the ‘grey’ divide,” he said, referring to the technological disparity hindering older people from gaining benefits of digital advancements, particularly in financial and social domains.

In Thailand, the elderly have proved to be particularly vulnerable to online scams, with the 2023 Asia Scam Report identifying Thais as the most susceptible in the region to cons over the phone. Alarmingly, statistics show that 88% of Thais have fallen prey to online scams, including fraudulent online shopping, identity theft and falling for fake investment schemes. Most of these are shared through platforms like Facebook, LINE and email.

Meanwhile, the decline in birthrates and extended life expectancy is also transforming the demographics globally, prompting a shift in healthcare, education and infrastructure.

“We wanted to reduce fertility rates. Maybe we need to be better prepared. It’s not a disaster, it’s actually an achievement, but an achievement that comes with certain challenges and we need to adapt better,” Tata said.