AGE Platform Europe joined the launch of the “Right to Offline” campaign in Brussels on 30 January 2025 as a partner. Organised by Lire et Écrire, the event highlighted the importance of guaranteeing access to essential services without always needing digital technology. It called for offline alternatives to ensure that no one is excluded by digitalisation.
An open letter, signed by 650 associations and scientists, was presented at the European Parliament, urging the EU to protect human contact in essential services like banking, healthcare, and public administration. This appeal responds to concerns about the exclusion of people who lack digital skills, including older adults.
The event featured key speeches from Members of the European Parliament, Estelle Ceulemans (S&D), David Cormand (Greens/EFA), and Catarina Martins (The Left), who supported the campaign’s call for high-quality, non-digital service options. Estelle Ceulemans emphasised, “Digital must be accessible, and essential services must be accessible to all”.
Marthe Diomande, a literacy student at Lire et Ecrire, recounted her experience on behalf of all people experiencing illiteracy: ‘We go to the bank, we’re asked to go to the terminal, we start to panic, everyone’s looking at us. The shame, the panic, it’s unbearable. We feel rejected, abandoned and useless to society. We no longer have a private life because we are dependent on our children or strangers to help us.’
This launch marks an important step towards social inclusion and ensuring that essential services remain accessible offline, paving the way for ongoing dialogue and policy change across Europe to achieve a smooth digital transition for everyone, at all ages.
Digitalisation and older people: our call to EU Policy Makers
Together with our members, we have published our contribution to the EU debate on the issues of digitalisation and ageing, including recommendations to achieve a smooth digital transition for everyone, at all ages.
In our policy paper, we have identified four priorities on which we believe the European Union, its Member States and all relevant stakeholders should make progress.
These priorities are:
- Collecting and making available more data on digital technologies in old age, therefore making older people truly visible and to better identify the gaps, the needs for actions as well as the progress.
- Tackling ageism to dismantle stereotypes about older people and digital technologies. The change of lens is critical to make sure that both policies, products and services are shaped to answer people’s needs without further increasing inequalities.
- Guaranteeing full accessibility, including availability and affordability, to ensure that the digital transition leaves no one behind.
- Using human rights as a compass for digitalisation so that people come before technologies.
A digital transition should be barrier free and attractive for all. This requires involving us, older people, are a true partner.
Useful links
- Article on Lire et Écrire Website
- Medicine Information Leaflets: Paper or Digital? Both! Patients have the right to receive a printed copy with their medication
- AGE Paper: “Digitalisation and older people: our call to EU policy makers”
- BEUC: Position on the European Commission’s proposal for a revised pharmaceutical legislation.
- PGEU: Position paper on the reform of the EU Pharmaceutical Legislation and PGEU position on electronic product information.
- CPME: Proposed amendments to the Commission’s Proposals for the Directive on the Union code relating to medicinal products (...)
- EFN: EFN PS improving frontline nurses’ time for direct patient care with digitalisation & responsible AI
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