Education transforms lives— first-ever International Education Day

24 January 2019

Education is essential for sustainable development and is needed for the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Education isn’t just the basis of Goal 4, it’s vital in order to achieve other goals, including reducing inequalities, improving health and achieving gender equality, among others.

The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres stated: “Education transforms lives...education is an engine for poverty eradication and a force for peace,” he continued “Yet, at least 262 million children, adolescents and youth are out of school, most of them girls. Millions more who attend school are not mastering the basics.”

The UNESCO Secretary-General, Audrey Azoulay, went further to say that education is a human right that needs to be protected and it’s necessary “to unlock the potential and innovation we need to build more resilient and sustainable societies”.