International Education Day, 2026

Message of the Universal Esperanto Association on International Education Day, 24 January 2026

[Sent to the UN]

Education is a human right written into the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is also by means of education that peoples, nations and individuals should advance respect for universal rights and freedoms. Education, in short, is special: needed is not just any education, but education that helps us build a peaceful, just and sustainable world for all.

UNESCO’s theme for this year’s International Education Day is: The power of youth in co-creating education. Young people constitute more than half the world’s population and define our future. It is important that they become a driving force for sustainable development, renewal, and social improvement. To achieve this, they need high-quality schooling that relates to their socio-historical backgrounds and that helps them build their autonomy.

It is important to meaningfully engage students, and young people generally, to co-create the education they need to realise their aspirations and ambitions. That is best achieved in an atmosphere of linguistic justice, with multilingual education that allows students to learn in their own languages and in regional, national and international languages. Every language is the sum of interpretations of what it means to be human.

Multilingual education that respects linguistic human rights is the key to high-quality and inclusive learning. It facilitates better educational outcomes, strengthens linguistic and cultural diversity, and advances the Sustainable Development Goals. Multilingualism is an essential value for co-creating an education where everyone is heard and everyone can speak and participate.

The Universal Esperanto Association, along with the International League of Esperantospeaking Teachers (ILEI), the World Esperanto Youth Organization (TEJO), and other Esperanto associations, organizes many educational initiatives across the world, including courses and training on various topics, including pedagogy, intercultural dialogue, human rights and language-learning.

For example, in 2026 we are preparing a collaborative proposal for the UNESCO Associated Schools Network (ASPnet) in Lubumbashi, D.R.Congo. The project – “Esperanto in Education for World Citizenship, Sustainable Development and Intercultural Learning” – will propose programmes that support education for sustainable development and world citizenship.

Inclusive, egalitarian and high-quality education, with opportunities for all, throughout their lives, is a true reality only if it takes place in languages chosen by the students. Together, we must create multilingual opportunities for all.