The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum 2021 once again invited the Global Coalition on Aging (GCOA) to drive awareness and foster innovative thinking on aging and technology. This year, GCOA is leading the ICT (information and communications technology)’s and Older Persons track, a series of sessions that GCOA started last year and one where, this year, they organised and curated a series of five panels, as well as the first-ever virtual Hackathon and the first Healthy Ageing Innovation Prize. The panels brought together government, NGOs and private sector leaders to discuss their shared interests in developing and expanding usage of ICTs for older adults to achieve a healthier and more active aging across the life course. Their lively discussions were held during the week of 12-16 April and can be viewed on the WSIS website.
The Ageing Better with ICTs Hackathon is poised to be a great success with over 1,100 registrants, and 800 teams, composed of a broad range of ages and genders from across the globe. The Hackers were given four problem areas within which to find solutions: Alzheimer’s Disease and Cognitive Decline; Frailty; Transportation and Mobility and; Financial Tools for Longevity. The Hackathon engaged support from 16 mentors, ranging from business and academia to international organisations, that participated in 3 separate mentoring sessions to share real-life experiences to better inform the hackers in their projects. These mentor sessions were held on 30 March, 6 and 7 April and the recordings of these sessions are also available on the WSIS website.
This year, GCOA also introduced the first Healthy Ageing Innovation Prize to celebrate existing innovation and developments that target the needs of people 60+ to achieve and sustain an active and engaged life. There are more than 80 ICT solution submissions with projects that range from the needs of the visually-impaired in mobility, home care assessment and training, supporting independence and those with cognitive decline, and ways to heighten enjoyment for older persons and encourage multi-generational engagement. The twelve finalists were announced on 29 April in a session where they presented to the judges:
https://www.itu.int/net4/wsis/forum/2021/Agenda/Session/423
The WSIS Forum is the world’s largest annual gathering of the ICT for development community, including ICT ministers, NGOs, twenty-four UN bodies, the academy, and business. The WSIS Forum is co-organized by ITU, UNESCO, UNDP, and UNCTAD.
