The theme of this year’s Enem essay was federal government public policy “harmful to society.”

Candidates for this year’s Enem test must write an essay on “Perspectives on Aging in Brazilian Society.” The theme has already been on the federal government’s agenda on other occasions, with last year’s Bring Back Violet June campaign by the Department for Human Rights and Civil Affairs chosen to “raise awareness of all forms of violence against older people”.

“Ageism is the use of a person’s age to classify or identify them in a discriminatory, derogatory, or stereotypical manner. This is because not only does it have a negative impact on physical and mental health as a result of this, but it also harms people by excluding them from social and workplace settings, which affects many areas of their lives,” the National Office for the Rights of Older People, which is in charge of the project, explained last year.

According to the secretariat, so-called “age discrimination” occurs in three aspects: institutional (within an organization), social (within an organization), and societal (within an organization). interpersonally (between people) or to oneself (internalized). To address this issue, the government says it is important to “promote change and encourage the creation of a different culture to think about older people in a non-discriminatory manner”.

“When ageism is internalized and a person believes that he or she is no longer capable, it represents a failure of public policy, a failure of society, because those who could have faced it were unable to do so, and that person considers himself or herself not subject to rights, not worthy of full citizenship,” said Alexandre da Silva, Director General of the National Office for the Rights of Older Persons.

See photos of the project to make visually impaired elderly women beautiful in Takuara

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Dona Marilia and student Jessica — Photo: Marcelo Thebald / Agência O Globo

project coordinator "generations united"Cristiane Bastos (left) and Vivian de Melo Sousa — Photo: Marcelo Thebald / Agência O Globo

Gisele Monteiro has nails painted by students. — Photo: Marcelo Thebald / Agência O Globo

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Student Rubi Santos guides an elderly woman in sensory activities — Photo: Marcelo Thebald / Agência O Globo

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Rubi Santos with an elderly woman at Sodalisio da Sacra Familia — Photo: Marcelo Thebald / Agência O Globo

An afternoon of beauty at Sodalisio da Sacra Familia on Old People's Day — Photo: Marcelo Thebald / Agência O Globo — 6 out of 10 points
An afternoon of beauty at Sodalisio da Sacra Familia on Old People’s Day — Photo: Marcelo Thebald / Agência O Globo

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IBMR students, teachers, nuns and elderly women from Sodalisio da Sacra Familia — Photo: Marcelo Thebald / Agência O Globo

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Older people reveal their desires and students try to fulfill them — Photo: Marcelo Thebald / Agência O Globo

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An elderly woman is painting her nails — Photo: Marcelo Thebald / Agência O Globo

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Sensory practice work created by IBMR students — Photo: Marcelo Thebald / Agência O Globo

IBMR students take part in a visit to the Sodalisio da Sacra Familia and respond to their requests

At the time, the government highlighted that of all complaints registered on Dial 100 in 2023, the majority dealt with cases against the elderly (88,408 cases), second only to complaints registered against children and adolescents (141,667 cases).

While government mobilization on this issue took place throughout June through the Respect at All Stages of Life campaign, this choice alludes to June 15, World Violence Awareness Day, established by the United Nations in 2011 “with the aim of raising public awareness about the fight against violence against older people.”