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The International Day to Protect Education - Children, Education and Armed Conflict

 I won't say too much about this. This UN report says it all. I am just shocked that it needs to be said and that a special commemorative day has to be created for it. Children are the most innocent victims here and it is particularly important that their lives become as normal as possible and as quickly as possible to help them to heal from the trauma associated with war, loss and displacement.  The following facts and figures are from the UN's website   In 2022, children continued to be disproportionately affected by armed conflict, and the number affected by grave violations increased compared with 2021. From January to December 2022, there was a 112 per cent increase in attacks on schools and hospitals, particularly in Ukraine, Burkina Faso, Israel, the State of Palestine, Myanmar, Mali and Afghanistan. In Afghanistan, the UN verified 95 attacks (72 on schools; 23 on hospitals), including attacks on protected persons. While non-state armed groups were responsible f

Of Books, Literacy and Education 2 - Reflections on International Day of Literacy, September 8

-Image generated entirely by Microsoft Bing AI “Literacy is a fundamental human right for all. It opens the door to the enjoyment of other human rights, greater freedoms, and global citizenship. Literacy is a foundation for people to acquire broader knowledge, skills, values, attitudes, and behaviours to foster a culture of lasting peace based on respect for equality and non-discrimination, the rule of law, solidarity, justice, diversity, and tolerance and to build harmonious relations with oneself, other people and the planet.” - Unesco The theme for this year’s Literacy Day is Multilingual Literacy. The reason for this is to foster peace and understanding between cultures. As we stand on the brink of war, not to mention those already in progress, this comes not a moment too soon, if not far too late. The other reason is that knowledge of other languages and the insight into other cultures which it provides, enriches our own. It is also about protecting cultural heritage. When l