Ogonnelloe woman urges parents to join the Generation Game

AN Ogonnelloe woman has urged that parents attend a new seminar to help bridge the information technology gap between adults and children.

Over 1,000 people are expected to attend the Generation Game, which is aimed at breaking down walls between parents and children regarding the internet at Dell’s Limerick campus on Friday. The event is being organised by event management students at Limerick Institute of Technology.

April Harty from Ogonnelloe, one of the event organisers, explains the idea for the Generation Game arose from the need to bring parents and children closer together in the online world.

“The internet has revolutionised the world we live in over the past decade or so. The younger generation today have grown up with it and the change has been so dramatic and quick that it is understandable that there would be gaps between parents and students.  Our event is all about trying to help bridge that gap.

“It’s a fun event for sure but there’s a very serious side to it. The internet has brought so many benefits but there are also clearly problems that need to be addressed as well. 

“One of the biggest is cyber bullying and we have arranged a seminar at our event at which we will have experts to address the gathering and give advice regarding how cyber bullying can be combated. We expect this will be a particularly well-attended session so we urge people to book early,” she added.

Parents are invited to step back in time at the event to their childhood to play games such as Atari and SNES and show their children their skills. 

Europe’s youngest app developer, 11-year-old Caolan Flemming, will also be in attendance following the success of his app Rampage. 

With games and activities for under sevens, there will be something for the whole family at the event, which will be opened by CoderDojo co-founder, James Whelton, who was recently listed in Forbes ‘30 under 30’ list.

While there will be a fun element as parents and children compete on computer games spanning both generations, it will also look at the serious side of online activity.

Launched by Clonlara-born Minister Jan O’Sulivan, the Generation Game will include vintage games for adults, coding workshops for seven to 17-year-olds and fun games for a younger crowd.

Minister O’Sullivan said events like this help educate parents better in the online world their children spend time in.