© UNESCO
In December 2018, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming 24 January as International Day of Education, in celebration of the role of education for peace and development. Today, UNESCO, as the lead agency for the Education 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goal 4, celebrates the first-ever International Day of Education.
Education is a human right, a public good and a public responsibility. And, as stated in SDG 4, Member States have set the goal to ‘ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all’ by 2030. International Day of Education serves as a reminder to this commitment and calls on governments and other partners to make education one of their priorities.
David Atchoarena, Director of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, said on this occasion: ‘Just as this is a call for universal access to pre-primary, primary and secondary education, in today’s times, marked by change and technological developments, we need to ensure that we don’t leave behind a big proportion of the world’s population: youth and adults. This is also a day to call for increased efforts to ensure access to education beyond school age and promote lifelong learning opportunities for everyone.’
The central event of this International Day, to be held at the United Nations’ Headquarters in New York, will bring together the voices of governments, the UN system, the private sector, civil society, faith-based organizations, teachers, academia and youth.
