AN ONLINE PORTAL TO ENGAGE SENIORS

Council for Third Age (C3A), Singapore launched its Chinese portal yesterday at the National Library. SeniorsAloud was invited to attend the ceremony.

In his speech at the ceremony, MP Mr Heng Chee How said, "Society's perception of seniors can only change with our seniors' perception of themselves. I am happy to note that many of our seniors are embarking on their active ageing journey, leading active and healthy lifestyles.

There is also a growing number of seniors participating in the myriad of programmes available for them to pick up new skills, discover new interests and hobbies, and stay engaged in lifelong learning in their silver years....One area where seniors are interested in is that of technology. Seniors today have access to technology and many are using it to stay in touch with their friends and relatives through various platforms, including social media.

Not many countries have a minister in charge of Active
Ageing and Employability. The government takes the
challenges of an ageing population seriously.

Thus it is most timely that Council for Third Age is launching a Chinese portal, after having achieved success with their current English portal which has reached out to more than 200,000 visitors since its inception in 2012."

Well said, Minister! Exactly why SeniorsAloud places priority in encouraging seniors to pick up some pc skills to enable them to go online to learn, discover and connect. Oh, and to enjoy too. The benefits are endless.

Seniors present at the launch were shown a step by step guide on how to navigate the portal so that they could easily explore all the features on their own at home. These include upcoming activities, recipes, videos, discounts, and much more.

You can access the C3A portal at www.c3a.org.sg/. Lots of goodies for seniors, especially if you live in Singapore.

The launch also saw participants of the Kopi and Toast buddy programme receiving their Certificates of Completion from the Minister. This is a 6-month mentor-mentee programme where an active senior is paired with a less active senior to build a meaningful friendship of mutual support through activities and learning. The mentors are given free training by C3A prior to matching them with a buddy each. Thumbs up for this initiative, C3A!

Some of the mentors (kopi) after receiving their certificates from Mr Heng Chee How

The mentees (toast) posing with Mdm Chua Foo Yong, Chairman of C3A and Mr Heng Chee How.

Mentee Mdm Sunita Khemlani was happy to have participated in the programme and made new friends.

For a guide to what's available on the C3A portal, please watch the video below. Do share the link with Chinese-speaking seniors. Just click on the language icon on the top right corner of the C3A home page to switch from one language to the other.