Moldcell Foundation and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) have signed a Cooperation Agreement on digital inclusion of older persons through intergenerational dialogue. This is the first partnership project under the Memorandum of Understanding between the United Nations and Moldcell regarding the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in the Republic of Moldova.

‘Moldcell Foundation is happy to conclude a partnership agreement with UNFPA for the digital inclusion of the elderly in the Republic of Moldova. Supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals is one of the main pillars of the Moldcell Foundation's work. Digitization is the key driver for reducing any type of inequalities and we are glad that Moldcell Foundation provides this opportunity to Moldovan people’, noticed Nirvana Chaudhary, President of Moldcell Foundation, at the signing of the Cooperation Agreement last week in Chisinau.

In her turn, Nigina Abaszada, Resident Representative of UNFPA in Moldova, noted that the private sector, including national and multinational corporations, private foundations and small and medium-sized businesses are key players in setting up public-private partnerships for social development.

‘We greatly appreciate the innovative vision of Moldcell Foundation to support the intergenerational dialogue in Moldova and to collaborate for the digital inclusion of older persons, with the involvement of youth. International experience shows that this interaction is beneficial for all ages and, in the long run, contributes to social solidarity and human development’. 

According to the Active Ageing Index, only 3% of older people in the Republic of Moldova use information technologies, while in EU countries, their percentage exceeds 41%.

The lack of this knowledge, as well as of the possibilities to purchase and use mobile phones, affected the Moldovan older people to a greater extent during the pandemic, as they are suffering so much due to social isolation.

The project initiated by Moldcell Foundation and UNFPA is meant to fill in this information gap by involving young people in training older people how to use mobile phones.

Thus, in the context of this project supported by Moldcell and UNFPA, and implemented in collaboration with UN Office for Human Rights and HelpAge International, more than 100 older people from Soldanesti, Rezina, Basarabeasca and Leova districts will be given mobile phones and will be taught how to use them by a group of young volunteers. 

The older people will benefit from group and individual training, following all protection measures during the pandemic. Eventually, the older will be able to use the phone connected to the Internet to make on-line payments, find information about healthcare and social services, as well as communicate with their loved ones. This will encourage intergenerational dialogue and will build a communication bridge between the youth and older persons, especially in the midst of the pandemic. The project will last until the end of this year.

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About Moldcell Foundation:

Moldcell launched the Moldcell Foundation in autumn 2020. Its mission is to positively influence the lives of Moldovan people by combining digital transformation and the use of technologies on the basis of the key areas of its digital responsibility: education, society, social impact investments and support for the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

About UNFPA Moldova:

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is the United Nations agency which advocates for a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe, and every young person's potential is fulfilled. UNFPA assists the Government of the Republic of Moldova in developing resilience against demographic challenges, by involving the young generation in projects supporting older persons and strengthening intergenerational dialogue.