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Good practice Imported

#ionline: Nationwide Digital Literacy Training for Older Adults

Belarus · Minsk · See the Belarus profile · See the Minsk profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 99% 16/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Telecom operator A1 and UNFPA trained social workers and launched a corporate volunteer network (#ionline) to teach smartphone basics to Belarusians aged 60+, rolling out from Minsk and Vitebsk to all six regions in 2021, though no participant-reach figures were published.

60 %
Pensioners who had never used a gadget or the internet (baseline)
#ionline: Nationwide Digital Literacy Training for Older Adults

Details

Promoter
A1 Belarus & UNFPA Belarus
Period
2021 (national regional rollout)
Keywords
digital literacy, telecommunications, elderly inclusion, private-public partnership

Context

National surveys cited by the partners found 60% of Belarusian pensioners had never used a gadget or the internet; the programme began as a UNDP-backed pilot for 80+ seniors in the Homiel (Gomel) region in April 2020.

Objectives

Telecom operator A1 Belarus and UNFPA formalised a joint digital-literacy programme on 25 June 2021 aimed at training pensioners in mobile-technology basics through a train-the-trainer model with social workers.

Activities

The programme produced a 'Smartphone is easy!' guidebook (including a version adapted for people with disabilities) and stood up a corporate volunteer network, #ionline, delivering hybrid classes; training launched in Minsk and Vitebsk on 30 July 2021 and rolled out to Mogilev, Brest, Gomel and Grodno, covering all six regions within 2021, with A1 also offering a subsidised Lenovo Tab M10 tablet.

Results

Per A1's own announcement, the programme achieved national coverage of all six Belarusian regions within 2021, but no source discloses the number of seniors or social workers actually trained, session counts, or funding levels.

Conclusions

No independent evaluation of learning outcomes was found, and no source confirms the programme continued past its 2021 regional rollout; it is documented as a well-sourced telecom-NGO training-of-trainers model, not a proven-impact case.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k) — Costs not disclosed; included guidebook production/distribution, tablet subsidies, and volunteer-delivered training.
Time to results
Medium (1–3 years) — Piloted in April 2020 in Homiel; formalised 25 June 2021; regional rollout completed within 2021.
Staffing & skills
A1 Belarus (telecom operator), UNFPA Belarus (UN Population Fund), social workers trained as trainers, A1 employee volunteers (#ionline network)

Conditions for success

  • Train-the-trainer model using existing social-worker networks
  • Corporate volunteer network for hybrid classes
  • Plain-language, disability-accessible guidebook
  • Subsidised tablets to support newly trained users

Common failure modes

  • No participant, session, or trainer counts ever disclosed
  • No independent evaluation of learning outcomes
  • No source confirms continuation past the 2021 regional rollout

Commonly funded by

Own resources / municipal budget Philanthropic / foundation funding

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

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