Top News

When her peers focused on academics, Divyana Maheshwari decided to do the unthinkable. A Grade 12  student at Dubai International Academy, she launched DIVE — an initiative to help senior citizens learn essential technology skills. “In 2019, during Covid, my grandparents were facing a difficult time communicating on phone. They felt dependent and lonely. Everything was so fast-paced and everyone was active on digital platforms and they started feeling left behind. I then began creating these small video tutorials which I screen recorded,” recalls Divyana.  The topics included: how to send voice messages, how to change system settings on phone, how to switch on WiFi and so on. They were able to follow the instructions and connect with their friends online. “I felt that if they are facing these issues, there must be thousands of other senior citizens who might be in the same situation,” says Divyana. “One thing led to another and I started creating these small videos which I then asked my grandparents to distribute within  their circle.”

Slowly and steadily, she took a step forward and launched her YouTube channel to take the initiative forward. “I started circulating the tutorials on WhatsApp, Google, YouTube and several other social media platforms. This became so huge that I ended up creating 235 tutorials for each of the specific apps that were hugely appreciated,” she adds.

Following this, Divyana created small booklets for learning with a bunch of senior citizens and reached out to 10 different groups, each of which had  almost 200 seniors. Thus  far, Divyana has taught more than 3,000 people across 12+ countries and built WhatsApp communities for daily tech support. She doesn’t do this alone. Her brother and a friend help her put it all together on their website and on the YouTube channel. Her work is making a strong community impact in Dubai and beyond. She has conducted 14 in-person activations in Dubai with NGOs and old-age homes. They have distributed more than 1,500 pocket guides for easy digital reference.

And that’s not all. Divyana excitedly shares, “We have now entered an extended stage where I am tutoring people who have Alzheimer’s and similar cognitive disorders.” She has partnered with an NGO called Forget Me Not and an old age home, Elderly Square. For them, she has created reading material in the form of a pocket booklet they can refer to whenever they need guidance. “The whole idea is to make senior individuals feel inclusive and make them technologically independent. Our belief is learning has no age,” she says.

Looking at the future, Divyana says her aim is to expand the initiative and improve upon its accessibility. She plans to involve more young people to simply dub these tutorials into different languages. Currently, the tutorials are available in Hindi and English.

The journey has been thrilling and creatively satisfying, she shares, but like any startup, Divyana has had her fair share of struggles and challenges. “It took me a while to start understanding how senior citizens comprehend information. They are childlike. It meant whatever tutorials I created, they had to be in extremely simple language. I tested my grandparents first and then moved forward. There were so many times I was not able to come to a point where I could make it simple for them to understand because the features were so complex.”

Initially, it took her 7-8 trial sessions for each tutorial video. “Another huge challenge I faced was understanding the questions that senior citizens came up with because they are sensitive. It can get frustrating for them if they don’t understand technical things. I was only 12 when I started, so my level of patience has also changed. It took a lot of character development to understand how to communicate effectively and help them comprehend concepts,” she reflects.

While Divyana is passionate about pursuing Data Science in the future, she has identified her niche — simplifying complex concepts for those who may find technology intimidating. Being well-versed in  different apps and different aspects of technology, research on what’s new and important is never a problem.  “Our aim is to teach people the basics of these apps and how to simplify navigation so that they can use them easily,” she says. 

Senior generation, or the ‘Baby Boomers’, are already grappling with age-related factors like hearing, vision, mental wellness, cognitive abilities, and now with AI and ChatGPT, Divyana feels this will only increase the need for the experience of DIVE. “These are such powerful tools that senior people must know how to use them. With time, we will be creating ChatGPT and AI tutorials. The idea is to make them well-versed in AI  because it will also be a companion for them and they don’t need to feel dependent on anyone,” she says.

DIVE is “solely a social cause” and Divyana does not aim to classify it as a business model. “I only want to make a social change within the senior citizen community. Our long term vision is to increase the level of tech knowledge and related sustainable developmental goals. We wish to work with UN for this initiative some day.” She also aims to bring more credibility to the platform by setting up an advisory board of legal advisors, tech experts and certified personalities to bring in a different perspective.

Divyana’s days are spent completing her school assignments and studies, but she takes care to devote enough time to create engaging content for her DIVE tutorials. Her organised routine and clear goals enable her to balance academics with her creative and social pursuits. 

However, despite her big goals and  the work that it entails,  Divyana is still a young girl at heart with simple dreams.  When asked about the passions and interests that she enjoys the most in her free time, she says, “My grandparents are a huge part of my life and I love spending maximum time with them. I learn so much from them. I also love to dance but don’t perform traditional classical dance. I have created my own style — a mix of Odissi and Hip Hop. Whenever I feel overwhelmed, this is my best stressbuster. Dance is a huge part of my life along with DIVE.”   

wknd@khaleejtimes.com

Dubai teen’s AI project becomes a hub of learning in rural Bihar Dubai teen musician wins Berklee scholarship, eyes the world stage No phones, no TV: Meet Dubai mum building screen-free parenting community

---