Blog by Evelyne Para, Soroptimist International Representative at UNESCO, Paris.
Young people under the age of 30 represent more than half of the world’s population. They are a driving force for sustainable development, innovation, and social transformation, yet they remain disproportionately affected by poverty, inequality, and limited access to quality education and decent jobs.
For International Day of Education 2026, UNESCO celebrated young people, their aspirations, and their role as agents of change in achieving inclusive and equitable quality education and in building peaceful, just, and inclusive societies.
Several hybrid events were co-organised with young people on 23 and 24 January 2026 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. The work was opened by Professor Khaled El-Enany (new Director-General, UNESCO) and Ms Amina J. Mohammed (Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations), and concluded by Ms Stefania Giannini (Assistant Director-General for Education, UNESCO).
Meetings and workshops also highlighted young people as active partners and co-creators of change at all levels. I have tried to focus on some of the topics discussed.
Young People as Partners
When it comes to shaping the future of education, young people have a crucial role to play. They are the beneficiaries of educational programmes, and their future depends on them. It is therefore essential to genuinely involve young people in co-creating the education they want, in order to meet their aspirations and ambitions.
Co-creating education means giving young people a real voice in defining priorities and recognising their desire to drive meaningful change. This is especially true in the context of rapid technological transformation, which is reshaping both the aims and methods of teaching and learning.
Moving beyond consultation requires formal mechanisms, transparent representation, appropriate resources, clear feedback processes, and the involvement of young people from design through to monitoring. Only then can education programmes and policies be designed with young people as full partners.
During UNESCO event, many young people spoke for universal access to secondary and higher education and for its promotion in crisis situations and conflict zones. They want to become key players in information dissemination and non-formal education, ensuring that their peers are not left behind.
In times of crisis or conflict, education is often the first sector to shut down and among the last to resume. Humanitarian aid tends to focus on basic education, while young people in secondary and higher education are frequently overlooked. As a result, 36 per cent of lower secondary students and 47 per cent of upper secondary students affected by crises are not enrolled in school, and only 9 per cent of refugees access higher education.
Without inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all, countries will struggle to achieve gender equality or break cycles of poverty. These inequalities are not only unjust; they are dangerous, fuelling frustration, exclusion, and vulnerability to hate speech and manipulation. By contrast, schools that welcome, protect, and empower students help build the trust on which lasting peace depends.
Young People Rely on Education to Build Peace
It is often said that peace is negotiated in diplomatic circles or international forums. In reality, for young people, it is built much earlier—in classrooms, throughout their schooling. Investing in education means believing that informed citizens, capable of debating, verifying information, and respecting the rights of others, can reduce the risk of conflict.
Education shapes how future adults perceive power, difference, violence, and compromise. When a child learns to resolve disagreement through dialogue rather than violence, a future conflict is defused.
To say that education supports long-term peace is not to claim that a diploma alone can prevent all conflict. Rather, it recognises that educated citizens—able to read a constitution, understand public policy, or question online information—are far less susceptible to simplistic rhetoric that can lead to violence.
Investing in education therefore means equipping everyone with the skills needed to participate fully in public life, strengthening critical thinking to counter misinformation, and promoting gender equality so that women are no longer excluded from knowledge and decision-making.
For the young people who spoke at UNESCO, investment in education also means creating safe and inclusive learning environments where rights are respected, discrimination is challenged, and participation is encouraged. This requires ongoing teacher training, accessible learning resources, and effective digital tools.
Young people also emphasised the importance of mediation. When conflicts are addressed through discussion, rumours are analysed in class, and projects are carried out collectively, students learn that shared rules and dialogue are more effective than force.
Repeated at scale, these experiences help build civic culture and democratic understanding. Every classroom that teaches students to read, question, respect, and cooperate strengthens the fragile architecture of peace. By contrast, schools that fail to provide safe and supportive environments risk deepening inequalities, frustration, and social tension.
Conclusion
At a time when all regions of the world are experiencing a succession of profound crises—geopolitical tensions, the erosion of democracy, and the climate crisis—one thing is certain: education remains a bulwark. However, it can only fulfil its mission if it takes place in safe environments. Otherwise, social cohesion itself will crumble.
Investing in safe educational environments is a strong political and ethical choice. It affirms that social cohesion and living together are built from the very beginning of schooling, every day, in every classroom. Ultimately, it is a commitment to the belief that education, when it protects and unites, remains one of the most powerful tools for bringing about lasting societal transformation.
