Having lost her job last year at age 67, Valentyna Korniienko decided to change her life. To do that, she took a free course in basic computer literacy at Software and Computer Museum in Kyiv.
“I’m a very active person, so when I got fired at the age of 67, I didn’t want to stop living my life,” Korniienko told the Kyiv Post. “My children had their own company, so I decided to help them and started to learn about computers. Now I help my kids with social media marketing and promote their company on Facebook.”
Korniienko, now 68, is among 500 graduates of the Software and Computer Museum’s free educational program. Besides courses on basic computer literacy, the museum also exhibits a collection of more than 100 rare computers, game consoles, cellphones and even robots. But the founder of the museum, Anton Trubnikov, 36, states that the primary aim of the Software and Computer Museum is to educate people.
“It all started with the idea of creating free courses on computer literacy for retirees, as the current younger generation is well-educated in terms of the new technologies, but with the elderly people, the situation is completely different,” he says.
“(The elderly) are often not able to find a well-paid job or even to communicate and keep up a conversation with their family, due to their lack of basic computer knowledge.”
Nearly 12 million out of 42 million Ukrainians have reached the retirement age which is 50-60 years, depending on a job. According to Ukraine’s Pension Fund, some 19 percent of the retirees, or 2.36 million, are employed.
Museum
After the 2017 establishment of the first museum in Kharkiv, the city of 1.4 million people some 500 kilometers east of Kyiv, Trubnikov decided to expand and opened a second museum in Kyiv in December.
Despite the name, the exhibition of vintage computers is not the main feature of the Software and Computer Museum.
According to Trubnikov, education comes first.
“I didn’t want to name this venue after classes on computer literacy, so I decided to create a museum. Enlightenment and education are known to be the ultimate tasks of all museums. So this is what we do, we educate,” Trubnikov says.
Launching courses on computer literacy for retirees, Trubnikov wanted to combat the age discrimination affecting workers and retirees in Ukraine. He believes people should be hired no matter their age.
The average age of the Software and Computer Museum’s students is 60 years, with over 100 people currently studying. Another 100 are waiting for the next classes to start.
“We teach people that modern technologies are easy, and there is nothing complicated in working with computers. Moreover, people appreciate that we do everything for free,” Trubnikov says.
The museum is funded out of Trubnikov’s own pocket, and the founder never considered charging for the courses.
“For millions of people in our country a salary of $300 seems to be (unachievable), and that’s unacceptable,” Trubnikov says. “Not only in Ukraine, but also all over the world, people are afraid of new technologies, and so they can’t find a proper job. We don’t think the economic situation in Ukraine allows us to charge for this basic, but very important knowledge.”
The Software and Computer Museum’s staff also provides advisory services to people who are about to start their own business or have ideas for new IT projects, Trubnikov says.
“When people share some of their ideas, we usually tell them if it exists already or not. We show people how we can help them, or try to introduce them to the people they need to know. Consequently, when some of our graduates want to create something, we always examine it and give the advisory evaluation. We also help them find jobs, or show them how to create a Facebook profile and a resume.”
Exhibition
Currently the Software and Computer Museum exhibits rare items like the Intellivision game console, created in the United States in 1980, as well as the Apple II computer, produced by Apple in 1977. All exhibits are lined up in chronological order, with 57 items located at the Kyiv museum.
Apart from that, the museum pays special attention to the world’s first programmer — Ada Lovelace. She lived in Britain during the 19th century and worked out an algorithm for the first proposed mechanical general-purpose computer.
One of the museum’s exhibits is an empty glass cube, with a note inside saying: “Your achievement could be here.”
“A person should realize that they can invent something that in the future can take its place in this cube. We want this to inspire both young people and the older generation,” Trubnikov says.
And while none of the museum’s students has yet to get their invention into the cube, many have definitely broadened their horizons. Another recent graduate of the Software and Computer Museum’s courses, Anna Novikova, 68, is one. She has learned how to use a smartphone and a laptop to communicate with her children, and is ready to continue studying new technologies.
“I really enjoyed the courses and new acquaintances. Now I’m thinking of continuing my studies at the Software and Computer Museum and then to find a job in a completely new area for me,” Novikova says.
Trubnikov is sure that the Software and Computer Museum is doing a good thing for retirees by teaching them how to use computers.
“People, especially retirees, can feel very lonely. But the Internet can heal them of their loneliness — if they know how to use it properly, of course. When our students realize how to do it, they start enjoying it, and this is cool,” he says.
