Bridging Our History

Nonprofit partners such as Community Tech Network help seniors utilize technology like Permanent.org to achieve important life goals and enhance their digital literacy.

History is traditionally passed down from generation to generation, from elders to youth. However, the reverse has become true when it comes to technology. This creates a mutually beneficial opportunity to create a new kind of cross-generational dialogue.

The pace of technological change has left many senior members of our society with limited understanding of recent technology. Their ability to pass down a legacy in a way that the youngest generation can receive is in jeopardy.

Senior participants are paired with trained Generation Z or Millennial volunteers who work to capture their life story through oral history sessions and upload important digital materials to Permanent.org.

COMMUNITY TECH NETWORK (CTN) believes that access to the Internet is a human right, and that those without the skills to use a computer are at risk of social and economic disadvantage. They work to ensure internet connectivity efforts are coupled with digital skills training.

“A unique opportunity for youth to use their innate tech skills to benefit a digitally disconnected population while learning from the lived experience of elders.”

KAMI GRIFFITHS, Executive Director of CTN

Preserving His Story

Archives will vary from senior to senior, but would include photo “scans” of physical materials in the users home as well as audio recordings of life-story interviews conducted by volunteers.