There is much work that needs to happen for Education to be Rights-Respecting and Rights-Affirming, as highlighted by the 2022 Youth Declaration on Transforming Education, the 2021 UNESCO Reimagining Our Futures Together, UNICEF’s Child Rights Education Toolkit, the reports of the UN SR on the Right to Education, The Convention on the Rights of the Child (and its General Comments), etc.

But in all their attempts to transform education, they do not question the fundamental assumption in education that is actually the biggest barrier to Rights-Affirming education: Paternalism.

That is why adults, even if they “listen” to what children have to say, believe it is their prerogative to make the final decisions on the education of children.

Is Education without Paternalism possible? Yes, it has been done in many different parts of the world, in some cases for over a century, under different names (Democratic Schools, Unschooling, Sudbury Schools, Agile Learning Centers, Free Schools, etc) and this session will showcase what education looks like when children are respected as full human beings.

On the International Day of Education (Jan 24th) we are organizing two events (for audiences in different time zones) at the Learning Planet Festival as follows:

While you are welcome to directly join the webinar (prior registration is not required), we invite you to confirm your participation on one of the following platforms for pre/post-session engagement. The Facebook and LinkedIn pages also make it easier to invite your contacts to join the event