Friday 25 July 2014

C3A Chinese portal tailored to senior citizens' interests

By Cheryl Faith Wee, The Straits Times, 24 Jul 2014

MANDARIN-SPEAKING senior citizens now have an online Chinese portal to find out more about topics varying from current affairs to lifestyle activities.

The Council for Third Age (C3A), a group that promotes active ageing, launched a Chinese edition of its one-stop Web portal for seniors yesterday. A pilot version went live in May.

It offers large font options and a user-friendly layout for the elderly. The platform works with more than 120 partners to feature news, events, activities and promotions for seniors. It also has content such as recipes and information about government policies which affect the elderly.

The English version has received 1.2 million page views and more than 200,000 unique visitors since it was launched in 2012.

Mr Heng Chee How, Senior Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office and chairman for the active ageing and employability sub-committee, was the guest of honour at the launch.

"Seniors today have access to technology and many are using it to stay in touch with their friends and relatives through various platforms, including social media. It is encouraging to see seniors embracing technology to stay connected," he said.

An online survey of 191 people by C3A reported that three in four people found the organisation's Web portal useful in helping them stay connected with society.

Those surveyed were between 40 and 78 years old.

Some individuals have already started using the Chinese portal.

Human resource director Serene Au, 58, makes it a point to visit it daily. She said: "The website has everything. Sometimes I stay up to explore it until 2am and my children ask me why I am not sleeping yet."








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