Day of Education 2020: ‘Learning for people, planet, prosperity, and peace’

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The global community will on Friday commemorate the 2020 International Day of Education – an annual international observance day held every January 24, dedicated to promoting the need for education – under the theme: ‘Learning for people, planet, prosperity, and peace’.

In partnership with the Centre for Research and Interdisciplinarity (CRI), UNESCO will host a celebration of the second commemoration of International Day of Education, proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 2018, to honour education and its centrality to human well-being and sustainable development. According to UNESCO, the 2020 theme highlights “the integrated nature of education, its humanistic aims, as well as its centrality to our collective development ambition. It will also give stakeholders and partners flexibility to tailor the celebration for diverse audiences, a variety of contexts and for priority themes.”

Similarly, the President of the UN General Assembly, Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, will convene a High-level Interactive Dialogue, at the United Nations Headquarters, New York, with the theme, ‘Aligning Inclusive Quality Education Policies with Sustainable Development Goals’, which will “seek to promote a common understanding of, and raise awareness about, the real meaning, benefits, and essentials of inclusive quality education and lifelong learning; amongst others.”

Doubtlessly, global literacy rates have steadily increased in the last five decades. However, the recorded literacy and enrolment rates do not give a true picture of the level of access to quality and inclusive education in different parts of the world.

According to the Global Education Monitoring Report, “the annual financing gap for reaching SDG 4 is $39 billion. In order to make quality education a reality for all we need to close this financing gap. Partnerships and collaboration are fundamental to implement the Sustainable Development Goals. UN thereby call on International entities, civil society, governments, and the private sector to work together effectively for progress at national, regional, and global levels.”