Overview of the European strategy in ICT for Ageing Well
European Commission, September 2009


Making the internet more accessible to older people and people with disabilities
50plus Hellas remains very concerned that such a low percentage of older people in Greece have access to or use the Internet. While this may seem a free choice, within a few years many services will only be available through the internet and all citizens need to be aware of this. So we were very pleased to learn that the European Telecommunications Ministers agreed to support efforts to make the internet more friendly and accessible to older and disabled users.
For more info on e-inclusion:

Telehealthcare has the potential to radically transform health and social care delivery and support the Government's goal of providing integrated, person-centred care services within the community. This is according to a panel of leading healthcare experts, directors of adult and community services and the Local Government Association.
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Helping older people to access the Information Society
Europeans are living longer than ever thanks to economic growth and advances in health care. Average life expectancy is now over 80, and by 2020 around 25% of the population will be over 65. Fortunately, the Information Society offers older people the chance to live independently and continue to enjoy a high quality of life. Currently, however, a number of barriers prevent the older generation from fully embracing Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). In response, the European Commission is developing actions to improve ICT uptake amongst the elderly.
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Broadband Internet for all Europeans: Commission launches debate on future of universal service
How can the EU achieve that all Europeans – from the North of Finland to the South of Italy, from the Western Ireland to Eastern Romania – have access to broadband Internet? This is the main question raised in a Commission report today. From 2003-2007 broadband use in the EU tripled to 36% of households. However, 7% of the EU's population are still not connected (30% in rural areas). There are striking gaps in the EU: 100% of the population is covered in Denmark, Luxembourg and Belgium, but more than 60% in Romania (75% in rural areas) do not have broadband access. Even in strong economies such as Italy and Germany, 18% and 12% respectively of the rural population are not covered. With broadband increasingly important in daily life, policy tools like radio spectrum management and mobile satellite services should accompany a broad debate about the universal service in telecoms – a safety net guaranteeing a minimum level of services, such as connection to a phone network and basic Internet access, filling basic needs that the market does not.
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Design for All (DfA)

e-Accessibility is about the integration of all users into the Information Society, i.e. older people, people with disabilities and also people placed in impaired environments. This will only come about as a result of designing mainstream products and services to be accessible by as broad a range of users as possible. This approach is termed "Design for All" and it could cover a very wide range of products, however this page focuses mainly on information society products and services. Although there are certain differences, other terms used like "universal design", "accessible design", "universal access", "barrier free design", etc are considered to be equivalent for this purpose.
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