Today (24/01/2022) is the fifth International Day of Education. Started by the United Nations in 2018, this initiative aims to promote education as a human right, as well as a key contributor to global peace and development. As the UN notes, unfortunately, some 771 million people across the world remain illiterate, whilst 244 million children and young people do not attend school. This poses a significant obstacle to creating a fairer society: without universal access to education, there is little hope of achieving gender or economic equality. The Covid-19 pandemic has created further challenges, with the closure of schools and colleges in many countries. As a result, the International Day of Education serves as an important reminder that education should be available to everyone: it is a right, not a privilege. Following the UN "Transforming Education" Summit that took place in September 2022, the theme of this year’s event is "to invest in people, prioritize education".
UNESCO has dedicated this year's event to the girls and women of Afghanistan who have been denied access to education. It calls for the lifting of these restrictions with immediate effect.
For more information about this event, and to read the report in full, check out UNESCO’s official site:
https://www.unesco.org/en/days/education