Education’s Role in Creating Global Peace

Education is a key that unlocks the door to a better life. The more people we empower with education, the safer and better the planet we share will be. If we want to achieve peace and live in a world with less violence and poverty, it must be done through education.

A more peaceful world is within humanity’s grasp. But how exactly does education create the circumstances for peace? Studies have shown that education plays a key role in reducing violence. There are several theoretical reasons why, one of which is that higher education increases work opportunities, discouraging participation in crimes and increasing drive toward goals. Education can help people learn patience and critical thinking skills, leading to less violent and criminal behavior.

Beyond a reduced crime rate, countries with a more educated populace also benefit from increased economic development. To end poverty, we must increase access to affordable education which enriches an individual’s job opportunities, resources, and skills, enough to transform the life of any student with the drive to learn. When we improve an individual’s life by arming them with knowledge, they in turn improve the lives of their family, community, and country.

The first step in creating world peace is to ensure every person who desires quality education has access to it. According to the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, higher education should be equally accessible to anyone based on merit. However, there are huge imbalances in global education tied to poverty and gender. UNESCO estimates that by 2025, there will be 100 million students seeking seats in universities that don’t exist. As the global demand for higher education continues to increase, we must take measures to ensure it is affordable and equitable. While we can agree that education should be a basic human right, how do we make it so in reality?

I believe the answer is University of the People’s educational model, which provides quality, tuition-free, affordable education accessible to all, anytime, anywhere online. UoPeople is the education revolution and a way forward for those who want to make higher education available to all and to build a stronger global community. When you educate one person you can change a life, but when you educate many, you can change the world.

Sources:

• Hjalmarsson, Randi, and Lance Lochner. “The impact of education on crime: international evidence.” CESifo DICE Report 10.2 (2012): 49-55.
• Ozturk, Ilhan. “The role of education in economic development: a theoretical perspective.” (2001): 39-47.
• “2020 Gender Report.” Global Education Monitoring Report, UNESCO, 2020, gem-report-2020.unesco.org/gender-report/.
• UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP). “Six ways to ensure higher education leaves no one behind.” (2017): 10.