Bridging the Gap between Young Designers and Older Users in an Inclusive Society

The ageing of the European population and the increasing reliance on the use of electronic technology for communication, employment and leisure has resulted in the need for ICT products and services delivered by broadband to be designed to be useable by older and disabled people. The principles of equal rights and inclusion are encapsulated in the world of design through Design for All, Universal Design and Inclusive Design. These have a strong focus on issues of accessibility and acceptability of products and services by older and disabled people. The more recent more political and economically motivated world of Digital Inclusion also introduces a social element which draws attention to a combination of factors such as low educational attainment, poverty, culture and geography that are correlated with low take-up of digital technology. This growing challenge of user diversity is placing new demands on our future young designers of broadband systems, information systems and services. Within this paper we discuss proposals and guidelines to support a European ‘Design for All in ICT’ curriculum which will enable an interdisciplinary mix of young designers, engineers and computer scientists to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to bridge the gap between them and older people, and other user groups and to design for an inclusive society.