Council for Third Age: One-stop portal for active seniors

By Leslie Kay Lim, The Straits Times, 2 Oct 2012

WHERE you once might have had to visit six different websites, you now need to go to only one.

The Council for Third Age (C3A) launched a new Web portal yesterday that aims to become a one-stop online resource centre for active seniors.

Pulling content from more than 80 partners, the portal at www.c3a.org.sg has news, events, activities and product bargains for seniors and is designed with larger font options and no tricky drop-down menus.

Information on the portal ranges from videos on traditional Chinese medicine to exhibits that seniors might enjoy visiting.

By the end of the first quarter of next year, seniors can even test out an online banking site to learn about electronic banking.

C3A chairman Gerard Ee explained that a Web-based portal will be "the most convenient way for seniors to remain connected". Its development, he added, was a natural progression of the organisation's mission.

While the focus on promoting active ageing was stronger when the organisation was founded in 2007, Mr Ee said that "having encouraged seniors to age actively, we must now help them to access what is available out there".

Mr Heng Chee How, guest of honour at the launch and Senior Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, described the "third age" as the "age of possibility".

The number of elderly folk will continue to rise, he added, and will occupy a central part of government attention.

The C3A also conducted a survey of about 600 people aged 50 and above on their technological habits, prior to the portal's launch. Of the participants, who were contacted through the C3A mailing list, 97 per cent said keeping up with technology helped them stay socially connected. More than 50 per cent also indicated they use the Internet on their cellphones.

The C3A also launched a mobile and tablet app version of the portal yesterday.

For seniors like Madam Dora Lim, 64, the portal is a welcome extension of the C3A's senior outreach.

Madam Lim already participates in the C3A's Intergenerational Learning Programme, launched last year, which brings together youth and seniors. The retired management secretary said she will make use of the portal to keep up with the latest events.

Said Madam Lim with a smile: "I'm ageing well."