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Silver Surfers’ Day 2009 will be on Friday, May 15th

It's not too early to start thinking about how you'll participate! On Friday, May 15th, 2009, there's an opportunity to join a huge national, annual celebration of older people's activities on the Internet.

By planning a simple 'taster' Event, you can actively invite local older people - to your office, library, school, museum, U3A, community centre, bingo hall, town hall, sheltered housing lounge - to have a good 'first-taste' of online life in a convivial atmosphere. (By 'older' we mean anyone from 50 to 110+; we've had 100 year olds learning successfully.)

This website is here to assist you to spread the word to people who are not yet online. It remains permanently 'live', including the Learning Zone (click on the tab above) and all it offers.

Do have a look at Learning Zone. It contains about 60 simple, easy-to-download, FREE handouts on everything from the basics on how to get on to the Internet in the first place, and use the mouse, up to more extraordinary aspects of the Internet. Also Learning Zone has a Q and A section which invites you to ask IT related questions from the simplest to the most complicated. We'll answer within 24 hours during the normal working week (and feel free to become an answerer, too, and be in line for a cash prize every month).

Above all, do you fancy getting ahead with organising your 2009 Event? All you need is one broadband connected computer and someone willing to be a 'tutor for a day'. We will be updating the Resources for 2009 but if you want to get a feel for what's involved, browse the Event Holders' Resources section 2008 here.

You could even attend a workshop near you, to help you brainstorm the logistics of holding an Event, meet like-minded others in your locality and have a chance to explore other aspects of media literacy within communities. Information on workshops around the country is here.

To stay informed, as we update and make more resources available to you, please make sure you're signed up for our occasional e-zine by putting in your email address in the slot on the left of this page. (It won't duplicate your entry in our database if you happen to have signed up previously.)

Quick review of 2008

Thanks from everyone at DU to all the wonderful Event Holders of 2008 who became 'tutors for a day' and invited in thousands of older people from their local communities to have a good first-taste of life online.

We were most impressed this year by the diversity of Event Holders: a solicitors' firm in Exeter, a Government Department in Westminster, a digibus in rural Worcestershire, Virgin Media Offices, Channel 4, and many, many radio stations, joined our stalwarts from libraries, schools and colleges and sheltered housing.

Silver Surfers' Day is managed by Digital Unite in partnership with Ofcom and is part of Adult Learners' Week.