Children and young people can help “transform mentalities”: project in schools works towards a “friendlier” society for the elderly
More than 20 thousand students from 122 schools in the North region of the country have already participated in the awareness campaign promoted by the Elderly Protection Commission (CPI), whose objective is to raise awareness of the violence against the elderly and bringing together children and adults, while deconstructing prejudices associated with age.
“Children end up conveying the messages they hear at home, and in society, in relation to a set of stereotypes that seriously harm the condition of elderly people. We have to work and combat this type of stereotypes and preconceived ideas regarding older people†, the president of the CPI, Carlos Branco, explains to Expresso. Among them is, for example, the perception that they are “a burden on society†or “major consumers of social resources†.
And because the young people of today will be the adults of tomorrow, the association organized the fourth edition of “Silence has a Voice†in the recently ended school year, a campaign that promotes sharing in schools of information and knowledge on the topic – as the concept of ageismfor example – and intergenerational activities, which include exchanging correspondence with elders.
Intergenerational activity at EBI/JI Santa Bárbara da Ilha Terceira
“Young people are a fundamental asset in transforming mentalities and achieving, in the future, a more inclusive society and more friendly to elderly people. It must necessarily come from these very young age groups,” explains Carlos Branco. Until the previous edition, the initiative was aimed at secondary school students, but this year it was extended to other cycles – including pre-school – through the project – “Acolhe-me†, by two students from the University of Minho, with actions adapted to the little ones.
Based on a “very positive†assessment, the person responsible believes that the work developed “can transform the way of thinking and acting in relation to the elderly†, and is to be continued in the next school year. “We have to change the paradigm in terms of the ways of thinking, feeling and acting in relation to the issue of age and aging,†he emphasizes.
Westend61
“empowerment†work
This was, in fact, one of the ideas that led to the creation of the association, in December 2013. People from different professional areas, such as law and psychology, realized that the elderly are are often a “vulnerable group†and decided to create a movement “towards protection and defense of rights†of this population.
The intervention focuses mainly on training and raising awareness among older people, but also the professionals who accompany them and caregivers. “There is a need for empowerment. This involves clarifying the rights they have, because we know that there is great difficulty for elderly people in accessing information,†points out Carlos Branco, exemplifying the case of the legal regime for accompanied adults. The association has also invested, in partnership with local authorities, in implementing the figure of the provider for the elderly.
Image Source
One of the issues that concerns the most is violence as a “multidimensional phenomenon†and “transversal to society†. “When we know that there are four elderly people per day, on average, who are victims of violence, we were very perplexed. But also knowing that violence and abuse begin to take on hidden forms and are often not identified,†he says. And even “in the more traditional forms, which are identified and in which it is possible to act†, for example within the familythere is a “very large set of resistance†, which involves fear and shame and often leads to not filing a complaint or not continuing with the process to the end.
This is one of the problems that continues to motivate the CPI, ten years later, to strive to “strengthen decision-making capacity, autonomy, freedom and dignity†. “The more elderly people are empowered, the more they are aware of their rights, the more independence and autonomy they have, the less room there is for violence, abuse and mistreatment to be exercised against them.â€
