Book Description

City of Joburg Senior Citizens Write is a collection of short stories written by Senior Citizens and adults who participated in the digital literacy and creative writing program that was introduced in 2018 at Murray Park Library, Johannesburg, South Africa. The first senior citizens class was held with 25 senior citizens. This digital literacy program was conducted through a concept of mobile e-classrooms where laptops were transported and assembled once a week inside the library study area, for computer lessons to be held. Mobile e-classrooms enable under-sourced libraries to also empower communities with digital skills. The first phase of the training was to introduce them to basic computer skills, including typing. The second phase was to introduce them to creative writing and encourage them to write stories about their lives using the typing skills they learned. They did not follow any rules or guidelines, these personal stories were written from the heart, hence some of them are longer than the others with different topics. This book demonstrates the commitment of the City of Johannesburg Libraries to empowering communities of all ages, including the marginalized, by giving them voices through reading and writing and by developing smart citizenry through digital literacy.