The difference between accessing essential services and being locked out
Em Goiás, o estado reconhece que digitalizar serviços públicos sem incluir os mais velhos é uma forma silenciosa de exclusão. O programa Cidadão Tech 60+ abre 320 vagas gratuitas em sete municípios para pessoas acima de 60 anos aprenderem a navegar no mundo digital — dos aplicativos de saúde às ferramentas de inteligência artificial — com inscrições abertas até 23 de junho. É um gesto que vai além da tecnologia: trata-se de devolver autonomia a quem foi deixado para trás pela velocidade das transformações.
- Idosos que dependem de serviços públicos digitalizados enfrentam barreiras invisíveis que comprometem acesso à saúde, benefícios e comunicação familiar.
- Golpes virtuais e desinformação atingem desproporcionalmente quem não recebeu formação digital — uma vulnerabilidade que o programa busca enfrentar diretamente.
- As 320 vagas distribuídas por sete cidades cobrem desde WhatsApp e Gov.br até o uso seguro de inteligência artificial, em cursos de 60 horas cada.
- As inscrições podem ser feitas presencialmente ou pela internet, reduzindo ao mínimo os obstáculos para quem mais precisa do curso.
- O programa sinaliza uma mudança de postura: em vez de simplificar a tecnologia para os idosos, o estado aposta em ensiná-la com profundidade e respeito.
O estado de Goiás está abrindo espaço para adultos mais velhos que viram o mundo migrar para o digital sem que ninguém os convidasse a acompanhar. O programa Cidadão Tech 60+, com inscrições abertas até 23 de junho, oferece cursos gratuitos de 60 horas para pessoas com 60 anos ou mais em sete municípios: Goiânia, Aparecida de Goiânia, Senador Canedo, Catalão, Jaraguá, Mineiros e Santo Antônio do Descoberto. São 320 vagas ao todo.
O conteúdo foi pensado para o que realmente importa no cotidiano de idosos brasileiros. Os participantes aprenderão a usar o WhatsApp, o portal Gov.br e o Meu SUS Digital — o aplicativo do Ministério da Saúde para agendamentos e teleconsultas. Também aprenderão a identificar golpes virtuais e desinformação. Não são habilidades abstratas: são a diferença entre acessar serviços essenciais ou ficar de fora deles.
O que distingue esta edição é a atenção à inteligência artificial. Além dos módulos tradicionais de segurança digital, os cursos incluem instrução sobre como usar ferramentas de IA, como avaliá-las criticamente e reconhecer seus limites. Para quem cresceu antes da era digital, isso representa um salto considerável — não apenas alcançar o presente, mas se preparar para o que vem a seguir.
A lógica do programa é clara: a exclusão digital amplifica outras formas de vulnerabilidade. Idosos que não conseguem navegar em sites governamentais, aplicativos de saúde ou plataformas de mensagens perdem acesso a serviços, ficam mais expostos a fraudes e se isolam de familiares. Ao oferecer essa formação gratuitamente — com inscrições presenciais e online —, o estado aposta na autonomia como resposta estrutural a esse problema.
The state of Goiás is opening its doors to older adults who have watched the world move online without them. The Cidadão Tech 60+ program, now accepting registrations through June 23rd, offers free digital literacy courses to anyone 60 and older. Three hundred twenty spots are available across seven municipalities—Goiânia, Aparecida de Goiânia, Senador Canedo, Catalão, Jaraguá, Mineiros, and Santo Antônio do Descoberto—with classes running sixty hours each.
The curriculum reflects what actually matters in the lives of older Brazilians navigating a digitized world. Participants will learn WhatsApp, the Gov.br portal, and Meu SUS Digital—the health ministry's app for managing medical appointments and telehealth visits. They'll study how to spot virtual scams and identify false information circulating online. They'll understand how to schedule doctor's appointments through digital systems and access remote care. These are not abstract skills; they are the difference between accessing essential services and being locked out of them.
What distinguishes this iteration of the program is its attention to emerging technology. Alongside traditional digital safety and literacy modules, the courses now include instruction on artificial intelligence—how to use it, how to trust it, how to recognize its limits. The state government frames this as preparation for conscious, secure engagement with AI tools that can assist with research, communication, and daily task management. For people who grew up in a pre-digital era, this represents a significant leap: not just catching up to the present, but preparing for what comes next.
Inscriptions are open both in person at course locations and online, making the barrier to entry as low as possible. The program's underlying logic is straightforward: digital exclusion compounds other forms of vulnerability. Older adults who cannot navigate government websites, health apps, or digital communication channels lose access to services, fall prey to scams more easily, and become isolated from family members who communicate primarily through messaging apps. By teaching these skills at no cost, the state aims to expand autonomy and reduce that exclusion.
The timing matters. Brazil has been steadily digitizing its public services—health, government, banking—with the assumption that citizens can access them online. Older adults, who represent a growing share of the population, have often been left behind in this transition. Programs like this one acknowledge that gap and attempt to close it, not through condescension or simplified versions of technology, but through structured, comprehensive instruction that treats digital literacy as a genuine skill worth teaching well.
Citas Notables
The program aims to prepare older adults to use artificial intelligence tools safely and consciously, assisting with research, communication, and daily task organization— Goiás state government
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does a state government invest in teaching seniors to use WhatsApp and government apps? Isn't that something people should figure out on their own?
Because the alternative is exclusion from essential services. If your doctor's appointment system is online-only and you don't know how to use it, you don't get care. If your pension is managed through a digital portal, you can't access your money. It's not about entertainment—it's about survival in a digitized world.
But why include artificial intelligence in a course for people just learning to use WhatsApp? Doesn't that seem like a leap?
It does at first. But the state is thinking ahead. If AI tools are going to be everywhere—in search engines, in health apps, in government services—then older adults need to understand them now, not after they've already been harmed by trusting something they shouldn't. It's preventive.
What's the real vulnerability being addressed here? Is it just about access, or something deeper?
Both. Access, yes—but also dignity and autonomy. Right now, many older adults depend on younger family members to navigate digital systems for them. That creates a power imbalance. Learning these skills themselves restores agency. They can manage their own health, their own government interactions, their own communication.
Three hundred twenty spots across seven cities. Is that enough?
It's a start. It's not enough to solve the problem, but it signals that the state recognizes the problem exists. Each cohort that completes the course becomes someone who can help others—a neighbor, a friend, a family member. The ripple effect matters.