24 January is the International Day of Education established by the United Nations. It is an important opportunity to reflect on the central importance of education as a right for all and a public good, which is fundamental not only for the growth of individuals but also for the development of society as a whole, because it is the most effective tool for combating inequality, poverty, marginalisation and exploitation. Education, an irreplaceable human right, is not only enshrined in the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of Children and Adolescents (articles 28 and 29), but is also found in other relevant documents, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The topic of the 2023 edition of the event is To invest in people, prioritise education.

A message for the Day from Secretary-General António Guterres is available on the United Nations website

UNESCO dedicates the Day to all girls and women in Afghanistan who are deprived of their right to schooling, study and teaching. At an event planned for 24 January in New York (UN headquarters), Unesco will reiterate its appeal for their right to study to be restored immediately.

In recent years, there has been a growing focus on the many topics concerning education, some of which are closely linked to current events: for example, civics, environmental education and peace education.
The main information on civics - a transversal discipline that revolves around three core themes (Constitution, sustainable development and digital citizenship) - can be found on the dedicated portal of the Ministry of Public Education.

The dedicated section of the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security website offers insights into environmental education.

On the subject of peace education, we recommend the article Educating for peace at school: a difficult but achievable mission - online on the Centro Studi Erickson website, in the dedicated page - and the in-depth study by the engineer and communicator Marco Bresci The need to educate children for peace, published on the website of the Alleanza Italiana per lo Sviluppo Sostenibile ASviS, on the dedicated page.

Also worth mentioning is Save the Children's guide for teachers Peace Beyond War - a useful tool for implementing peace education activities in the classroom, available on the organisation's website, in the "Publications" section.

Finally, we would like to highlight the legal framework on children and adolescent' right to education, produced by the National Centre of Documentation and Analysis for Childhood and Adolescence, and the bibliography proposed by the Innocenti Library A.C. Moro to mark the Day, available on the Library's website in the "Bibliographies" section.

Other materials and news can be found on this site under the topic Education accessible from the "Topics" navigation menu.