Closing the Digital and Generational Gaps: The Family Online Program

Adrian and Miriam are among more than 5,000 parents and children (ages 10 to 13) throughout Israel who have participated in MISHPACHA B'RESHET – the Family Online program. Established by JDC-Israel's Division for Immigrant Integration, Employment and Entrepreneurship in 1998, together with the Ministry of Absorption, Family Online promotes positive interaction between parents and children from immigrant communities utilizing computers and family heritage.

Over the course of 20 three-hour sessions at their local community center, Miriam and her mother will learn the basic computer skills required to produce a PowerPoint presentation about their family history. Working together to create this presentation causes a powerful encounter between them: deftly operating a computer gives Miriam an opportunity to shine in front of her mother and further gain her admiration. And Adrian equally gains Miriam's respect as she shares her knowledge about their family roots and learns computer skills with her daughter. "It is important for me to arrive to class on time because I want to learn how to use computers," says Adrian, a mother of three. "At the beginning of the project I didn't know how to type on a computer. Now I can and if I keep practicing I know I will continue to improve."

This type of positive, mutually respectful interaction poses an often stark contrast to the typical immigrant family experience, whereby the status of the parent becomes diminished because, while the younger generation quickly internalizes the norms of Israeli society, the older generation has more difficulty doing so. Furthermore, parents who are unable to read and write can participate fully in Family Online; this is particularly relevant in the Ethiopian-Israeli community, where a great percentage of the population is illiterate in their mother tongue. "I learned slowly, and at each phase I began to understand more about how to use a computer, thanks to the help of my daughter and the instructor," says Adrian.

The Family Online program helps to not only develop computer awareness and literacy among immigrant parents and their children, but to enhance their relationship by cultivating dialogue. Since cooperation between the generations is essential in order to progress and complete the tasks of the course, improved communication is virtually a guaranteed outcome of their participation.

Findings show that Family Online is also helping to reduce the digital gap between immigrant children and their veteran-Israeli peers. For many of the children, whose families cannot afford the luxury of home computers, it is their first exposure to information technology. Through the course, they and their parents learn how to use PowerPoint and Word, surf the Internet, and use e-mail.

Family Online is held in high esteem by local communities, who are intensely involved in the operation of the program. Host cities – which this past year included Kiryat Yam, Kiryat Motzkin, Petach Tikva, Ashdod, Gedera, and Be'er Sheva – help to locate and recruit families (primarily Ethiopian-Israeli and Kavkazim), as well as provide computer resources and instructors. Additionally, a local steering committee and coordinator support and accompany the instructors throughout the project.

To recognize the importance of the Family Online Program to their community, Petach Tikva recently held a closing ceremony for participants, attended by 150 people including Deputy Mayor, Mr. Ben-Shimon, and representatives from the Yosfetal Community Center, JDC, and the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston, among others. Citing the program's contribution, one local official said, "This program offers many families the opportunity to become familiar with the millennium world of technology and helps close the generation gap."

Going forward, Family Online will be sustained by the communities themselves, ensuring ongoing opportunity for families like Miriam and Adrian. A goal of all JDC-Israel programs, conducted in partnership with local municipalities and organizations, the program will be adopted, in this case by Lahava – a non-profit organization established by the Israel Ministry of Finance as part of a national endeavor to close the digital gap.