International Day of Education
The Power of Youth in Co-Creating Education
“We must do far more to make progress toward achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4, namely ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all.”—António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations
Proclaimed by the United Nations, the International Day of Education highlights each year the essential role of education in fostering peace, development, and human dignity. It strongly affirms that education is a human right, a public good, and a shared responsibility, at the heart of building a more just and inclusive world.
2026: Recognizing Youth as Agents of Change
The theme chosen for 2026, The Power of Youth in Co-Creating Education, underscores a key reality: young people under the age of 30 represent more than half of the world’s population. As drivers of innovation, engagement, and hope, they are central to sustainable development and social transformation. Yet they continue to be disproportionately affected by poverty, inequality, and limited access to quality education and decent employment.
When it comes to shaping the future of education, young people have a unique role to play. They are both beneficiaries of education systems and builders of tomorrow’s world. Their meaningful involvement in the co-creation of education is therefore essential to ensure that learning responds to their aspirations, talents, and to today’s challenges—particularly those arising from the technological revolution and rapid societal change.
A Commitment Rooted in the 2030 Agenda
This approach is fully aligned with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which recognizes young people as agents of change in achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4: ensuring inclusive, equitable, and quality education for all, throughout life, and contributing to the emergence of peaceful, just, and inclusive societies.
The Youth Declaration on the Transformation of Education reflects young people’s determination and capacity to engage actively in strategic education dialogues. At the local level, their initiatives—often carried out in fragile or crisis-affected contexts—play a crucial role in supporting their peers and safeguarding the right to education, especially for the most marginalized.
Objectives of the International Day of Education 2026
The 2026 observance aims in particular to:
- Review national efforts to involve young people in education decision-making, based on a new survey conducted by UNESCO and the United Nations Youth Office;
- Highlight UNESCO’s leadership in placing youth at the heart of decision-making bodies and global education networks;
- Present practical tools that foster meaningful youth participation in shaping education, in and beyond schools;
- Showcase youth-led initiatives in crisis-affected settings that help protect the right to education for all.
In the spirit of the congregation, this day is an invitation to listen to young voices, to place our trust in them, and to walk alongside them in co-creating an education grounded in hope, justice, and peace.