HAPPENING AT THE UN
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF EDUCATION

Education is noticeable when it is not there, when someone is "poorly educated", which essentially means that one does not know how to relate to others. And this is the problem, if you don't know how to read the world you don't understand what people are telling you, you miss what is happening, perhaps you withdraw into yourself, you begin to think you are always right, everything that goes wrong depends on a cynical and cheating destiny or, even easier to imagine, by people who hate and hinder you, probably because they are envious. This is not usually the case, but you only realize this if you read, solve some mathematical problems, stay informed, listen. In the West you simply have to choose to do it. It is also true that in the most developed countries there are pockets of the population who have difficulty accessing education due to issues related to low income or a disadvantaged social context, but in most cases the possibility of studying is guaranteed, without distinction of gender, social class, religion or any other form of discrimination. In the rest of the world the situation is very different. On planet Earth right now, there are an estimated 258 million children and youths out of school and 617 million children and adolescents who cannot read or tackle basic maths. But there is no equality even among the disadvantaged and discrimination is almost always linked to gender: in sub-Saharan Africa less than 40 percent of girls complete lower secondary school.

In addition, around four million refugee children and young people are out of school.

Education is a human right, is for the common good and is a public responsibility, not only because everyone should be given the opportunity to improve their social and intellectual status, but also because without inclusive and fair quality education, less developed countries will fail to break the cycle of poverty that is leaving millions behind. The West, for its part, will continue to suffer the indirect consequences of the phenomenon in the form of massive migrations. And there are no walls that can stop desperate parents who have no food to give to their children.

To address the issue in an ongoing and structured way, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed January 24 as International Education Day in 2018. The idea behind it is simple and fundamental: without education there is no development and without development there is no peace. The West should invest in education worldwide for philanthropic purposes but also because it is convenient. It is not a question of being "good", but of thinking in practical terms. To put two and two together. In fact, it is useful to know how to put two and two together.