A night of bingo, bowls and digital skill development took place at the Warburton Bowls Club on 22 October in celebration of Get Online Week.
Warburton Bowls Club grants officer Aimee Dostie said 40 people gathered to enjoy some entertainment and education for the event.
“It was a really good vibe. We had a lot of families, we had some children as young as four and then some grandparents probably in their 70s or 80s.
“The weather wasn’t bad enough to keep people at home.”
Get Online Week is an initiative which aims to close the digital divide and help Australians build practical online skills, with an emphasis on older Australians.
The initiative is spearheaded by the Good Things Foundation, an organisation focused on creating a more digitally inclusive world.
Ms Dostie said there was a lot of resources available to help people at the event develop their digital skills, while an internet-themed trivia
“We had trivia questions that were focused on internet type questions, as well as I would give information on resources and where to find them.
“It was pretty interesting and exciting to kind of see some people that you wouldn’t expect engage a little bit more,” Ms Dostie said.
Good Things Foundation chief executive officer Jess Wilson said Get Online Week supports older Australians to build digital literacy through events which are local and familiar.
“It’s about supporting older Australians to build their digital literacy and skills at local places close to them, so that they do have the opportunity to be able to learn something new, but also to be doing that in the local community close to where they are,” Ms Wilson said.
The median age of someone living in Warburton is 50, and it’s this demographic that are most vulnerable to complications caused by technology, and scams.
Research commissioned by the Good Things Foundation revealed over half of Australians over 65 relied on friends and family for help with tech problems.
These problems are diverse and can include simple navigation, fixing glitches, identifying AI generated content and spotting scams.
Ms Dostie said the Warburton Bowls Club was positioned well to offer education on digital skills as the majority of its members were over the age of 50.
“Being a bowls club, it really is our demographic. We are happy and open to anyone, but probably the majority of members are over the age of 50 and this enables us to give them extra value,” Ms Dostie said.
In 2023, the Upwey-Tecoma Bowls Club were victim to a malicious scam which cost them more than $100,000.
The club was paying for repairs to its front green when an elaborate business email compromise scam saw the money sent to a bank account in Uganda.
The importance of digital literacy cannot be understated as scams become more prevalent.
Ms Dostie said even those who didn’t need the resources still saw value in the event, as there were people close to them that might struggle using technology.
“It’s not that you might necessarily need these resources, but you might know somebody else that does and they are available to you on the Good Things Foundation website, as well as the Be Connected Australia website,” she said.
Those resources can be found on the following websites: goodthingsaustralia.org/ and beconnected.esafety.gov.au/
