Online Collaborative - Overview of university for seniors courses - Fall 2012 - 13

So, if you want me to tell you a little bit about the University for Seniors. It's a program that started in Spring 2012 by 2 Professors in AUB: Professor Cynthia Myntti and Professor Abla Sibai. Why did they start the University for Seniors? For three reasons. The first reason is the increase in life expectancy in Lebanon which is now around 72 years. Therefore, we now have more people who are 50 and above. In Lebanon, 20% of the population belongs to the 50+ demographic, which is the highest percentage among the Arab countries. So this is the first reason. The second reason is a study that AUB has conducted in its neighborhood in Ras Beirut. This study has shown that a lot of these seniors are suffering from loneliness because their children live abroad or are busy with their daily lives and with their own families. Thus, these seniors need something educational or social that is beneficial and can fill up their lives. This is the second reason. The third reason is that all the international studies have proven that when a person ages but stays mentally and physically active, this helps him avoid mental and physical diseases. So these are the reasons that led Profs. Myntti and Sibai to start the University for Seniors and led AUB to support this idea or initiative. My name is Nour, and I'm helping AUB's Online Collaborative in the workshop that they are hosting whchi is Computer Literacy. Basically, we are teaching seniors (as part of AUB's University for Seniors) how to use a computer because a lot of people reach an age where they do not feel like learning things on their own. They come here and we show them that there is still hope for them to learn how to use a computer. They witnessed the computer's birth but they didn't give it much attention back then, but now they realized that they are late in learning about it. We are showing them that they are not late for anything and they can still catch up. Computers are very important and it will help them stay connected to the world, and they should not go into depression especially when they are aging and spending their time alone. They can still look and be connected to the world. Hi, my name is Bayan and I'm helping with the course for Computer Literacy with The Online Collaborative at AUB.