The City of Vienna’s social housing agency Wiener Wohnen has launched the pilot project AALbin under the auspices of the forthcoming international building exhibition (IBA_Wien 2022) to motivate social housing tenants in the 65 plus age bracket to engage with new technologies and explore the possibilities they offer.

The Per Albin Hansson Estate in Vienna’s Favoriten district was selected for the project on account of its high percentage of elderly residents. 30 over-65s have been equipped with tablets and smart watches with an emergency call function, and will attend a series of workshops over a period of around 18 months to help them get the most out of the digital devices.

A long, independent life

“It is very important to us that we tailor the Wiener Wohnen client platform to the requirements of the older generation. Many older people wish to stay in their own home and live an independent life for as long as possible, and this will allow us to help them do that. The project is also designed to interest senior citizens in digital technologies and show them how enjoyable they can be, as this can help them to forge and maintain social contacts,” explains Executive City Councillor for Housing and Women’s Issues, Kathrin Gaal.

“A lot of over-65s say they would appreciate having somebody they trust to accompany them on their initial forays into the digital sphere. And that is exactly what the elderly residents of the Per Albin Hansson Estate are getting as part of our programme for the IBA 2022! The project aims to help break down barriers and enable senior citizens to engage independently with the host of digital tools and services on offer,” adds the District Chairman of Favoriten, Marcus Franz.

Promoting digital literacy

With the AALbin project, Wiener Wohnen is investing in AAL (active and assisted living) technologies for elderly social housing tenants. The project will run until the end of 2022, with the focus on both parties learning from one another: the senior citizens will learn how to navigate the digital world with greater confidence, while the project partners will gather valuable insights into the digital preferences and needs of elderly social housing tenants.

Especially in situations such as the current lockdown, these digital skills allow elderly people to stay in touch with family members who do not live in the same household. Reflecting the importance of this aspect, the think tank UIV – Urban Innovation Vienna is working with Wiener Wohnen throughout the entire process, from equipping the participants with their end devices to teaching them how to use digital technologies safely. This will ensure that the digitalisation process remains focussed on people and their needs.

Digital and social inclusion

Digital tools and services are still relatively little used by the over-65s, although it is precisely this age group that could derive great individual benefit from them. On its way to becoming the digital capital of Europe, Vienna thus places special emphasis on ensuring that all age groups, and especially senior citizens, are kept on board. The WAALTeR digital tools project has already provided one successful example of how this can be done. An explicit objective of Smart City Wien is to utilise new technologies to help promote social inclusion. Digital transformation should also benefit those groups who do not (or cannot) yet engage with new technologies in their everyday lives.