Pilot offer for senior citizens

From left to right: Claus Zeppelzauer, authorized signatory and managing director of ecoplus House of Digitalization; Christiane Teschl-Hofmeister, Lower Austrian State Councillor for Senior Citizens; Karl Wilfing, President of the Lower Austrian Parliament and Chairman of the Lower Austrian Senior Citizens' Association; Luise Maria Strobl, District Chairwoman of the Lower Austrian Senior Citizens' Association for the Waidhofen an der Thaya district; and Lukas Reutterer, Managing Director of ecoplus House of Digitalization

(April 28, 2026) – “I am delighted about this initiative from ecoplus House of Digitalization. The older generation in Lower Austria is active, interested, and open to new things – this is demonstrated once again by this program. It is important that we support senior citizens in using digital developments safely and independently. I wish all participants every success and, above all, enjoyment with this program,” said Christiane Teschl-Hofmeister, Lower Austrian State Councillor for Senior Citizens.

(April 28, 2026) The first group of senior citizens from Lower Austria kicked things off this past weekend: A total of 40 seniors from the Waidhofen an der Thaya district visited the ecoplus House of Digitalization in Tulln and participated in the new program.

State Parliament President and Lower Austrian Senior Citizens' Association Chairman Karl Wilfing emphasized: "Digitalization is not a matter of age, but rather an enormous opportunity for greater quality of life, independence, and participation in society. As Lower Austrian senior citizens, it is a central concern for us to support the older generation in this process as best as possible and to leave no one behind. The close cooperation with the ecoplus House of Digitalization is a real milestone in this regard: Together, we are breaking down barriers, creating easily accessible, practical educational opportunities, and ensuring that senior citizens in Lower Austria can actively and confidently use the advantages of the digital world."

In the exhibition, participants experience how digital technologies are already shaping everyday life and which innovations could play an important role in the future. Interactive stations, digital applications, and visionary projects from Lower Austria and Austria make digital transformation vivid and tangible.

The subsequent workshop takes a practical approach to questions that are particularly relevant for older people in their digital lives: What is artificial intelligence? How does it work? What skills are needed to use AI applications effectively? Concrete examples will demonstrate its practical applications in everyday life – for instance, with forms and dealing with government agencies, travel planning, recipes, research, user manuals, medical topics, or communication with family and friends.

A special focus will also be placed on the challenges of the digital world. Topics such as internet security, data protection, fake news, manipulated images, videos, or voices, as well as potential misinformation generated by AI, will be explained clearly and discussed together. Practical applications such as ChatGPT, Claude, WhatsApp AI, and voice assistants will also be presented. The workshop materials will be made available to participants afterward for reference and practice.

The workshop will also include presentations of various applications, such as ChatGPT, Claude, WhatsApp AI, and voice assistants. “Digitalization affects all generations. That’s precisely why it’s important for us to create programs that engage people of all ages and reduce any apprehension they may have. With this new program for seniors, we want to demonstrate how digital technologies and artificial intelligence can support everyday life – and at the same time, explain what to consider when using them,” emphasize Lukas Reutterer and Claus Zeppelzauer, Managing Directors of the ecoplus House of Digitalization.

The feedback from the first group was overwhelmingly positive. The interest in the practical examples, as well as in questions about security and data protection, clearly showed that digitalization and artificial intelligence are also important everyday topics for seniors. The experiences from the initial sessions will now be used to continuously adapt the workshop and further develop it in collaboration with senior citizens' associations.