Anne Pöttgen, LernCafe

The work with the Internet connects us – six elderly people – in a double sense. We all spend much time with the Internet and with communicating the advantages of the medium to others. But we also spend time together in real life.

Egon and Siegfried manage nine computers in a meeting place of the Diakonie service in Leverkusen. Technology is not a foreign word for them. Egon takes care at the same time of a second Internetcafé – perhaps he has too much free time? Nadja as a professional computer scientist contributed substantially to the set up of the “girlspace” in Cologne, an Internetcafé for women only, as the name indicates. Elke takes care in the PC-Treff “Caritashaus International“ of ladies and gentlemen aged 60 to 80 years and makes them familiar whit the first, second and third steps in the world of computers. Marie-Luise is responsible for the introduction to the secrets of the Word program in the Senioren-Computer-Club Willich. I and Anne write articles for the Lerncafé and until a short time ago I also gave courses in an Internecafé belonging to one network.
We meet regularly, alternating public rooms and our homes. There we talk shop and of course we gossip a little too.

In Leverkusen

It is always very lively in the Internetcafé „Am Aquilapark“ in Leverkusen. That is because there are nine PCs available and also due to the atmosphere that entices one to come back. The café is integrated in the meeting place of the Diakonie service and that is why social aspects stand in the foreground. The training concept of Egon and Siegfried and their fellows consists of components „courses“ and „free learning“. Beside the classical courses for beginners like: surfing the web and introduction to the MS Office programs, they also focus on the techniques of picture editing. Everything according to the slogan “As little as possible, as much as necessary”.
A speciality is the “MouseMobil”. Within this project, PC and Internet training courses are offered to seniors who cannot leave their home any longer. Also in these cases, there is enough time for personal talks.

In the rural area

Through mouth to mouth propaganda more and more seniors come to the Internetcafé of the German Red Cross in Bergisch Neukirchen, a rural local part of Leverkusen.
In the Internetcafé the visitors can surf the web for free and also visit trial courses where they are given extensive learning materials. These were compiled by Egon, who co-initiated the media training in the “Begegnungsstätte für Alt und Jung” (meeting place for the old and the young) six years ago.
On the list of choices of some advanced visitors stands besides the introduction to MS Office also picture processing and creating homepages. Computers with new operating systems are at thir disposal: Windows XP and Vista, DVD burner, card readers and scanner are also there. Everything is on the newest level in the rural area.

In Cologne

Nadja participated in the “girlspace” in Colonge for years. At the end of 2001 she came to Cologne from Russia and because of her qualification as an information scientist she could help in many tasks.
The “girlspace” was founded in 1999 as a media-educational Internetcafé for girls and young women, but since 2003 also women aged 50 years and older have the possibility to make themselves familiar with computer in a stress-free way.
Girls and women learn along and from each other and are supported by a competent team consisting of employees and voluntary workers. The use of the internet is for free, it is sponsored by the local provider Netcologne. The offer is designed in such way so that also social disadvantaged and migrants are addressed by it. Nadja was also gladly the contact person for private problems, particularly for foreign women. She was a contact between the guests of the “girlspace” who wanted to inform themselves about this establishment.

In Neuss on the Rhine

The times, in which an older lady or a turned-grey senior came into the Internetcafé and had first to learn how to handle the keyboard and the mouse are past. Today nearly all class participants of the PC-meeting of the network “Neuss Mitte” in the “Caritashaus International” have a PC or a notebook at home. And that today almost nothing works without the Internet, motivates all. And so Elke can organise a sophisticated program for their participants.
Searching in the Internet is in the program. What are temporary Internet files and what are blogs? Google Earth – what everything can this program do? Digital photography and creating photo albums are some examples.
The network of the Caritas is a community of people starting from the age of 55, who are shortly before going in pension or are already in retirement, who want to get to know new people, to cultivate common interests and engage themselves in a meaningful activity. And this commitment became for Elke an interesting goal.

In Willich on the Niederrhein

The Seniors’ Computer Club in Willich developed from the idea „help to self-help “. In the year 1998 the senior-advisory committee of the city Willich decided to establish a seniors’ PC working group. The resonance was great. But what can a starting PC-club with beautiful rooms without PCs and monitors? A call for donations was started. It was very successful and so the group could start. It became an endless story. In the year 2003 Marie Luise Schwelm appeared. She still experienced, how one works with an 286 operating system. Today there are 14 computers, of course with Windows XP and Vista and the modern flat monitors. Marie Luise specialized in courses with the text program Word.

In Duesseldorf

The Internetcafé of the cultural network Duesseldorf Gerresheim was until a short time ago in a historical building, the remainders of the Katharinenberg monastery. The café was set up in the year 2000. At that time the atmosphere of uproar prevailed concerning Internetcafés for seniors. Interested people older than 80 years were no exception. And this corresponded with my wish: „I would like to show the ones older than me, how simple it is to surf in the Internet“. However, that is now the past. The Internetcafé moved to another premises and stopped this work. But not to go into retirement. I – Anne – in the eighth decade of my life have found a new task: I write for the “Lerncafe”. Thus I belong to a virtual group, whose members live all over Germany. In contrast to the Rhine group already described here, our only connection is over the Internet which does not harm our common task.

What united us?

In view of the very different fields of activity I asked myself during the writing of this article: From where do we actually know each other? It can be attributed to the „Forum Seniorenarbeit NRW”. In their seminars and conferences first Egon and Anne have met, then Anne and the other ladies. Egon and Siegfried work together in Leverkusen. Egon and Marie Luise are editors of the network journal of the “Forums Seniorenarbeit NRW“. That is an online-journal like our Lerncafé, however this journal connects primarily voluntary workers working in the Internetcafés. And Elke and Anne got to know each other over the networks in which they are or were active. A patchwork carpet which would have never had emerged without the Internet.

Links

http://www.telelev.net/~seniorentreff/
http://www.drk-leverkusen.de/index.php?id=12
http://www.girlspace.de/
http://www.netzwerk-neuss.de/
http://www.computer-club-willich.de/
http://www.netzwerke-duesseldorf.de/kultur-gerresheim/
http://www.forum-seniorenarbeit.de
http://www.lerncafe.de
http://www.mousemobil.de/content.htm