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2023 Themes
EQUALITY
Equality is a concept that refers to the state or quality of being equal, especially in status, rights, or opportunities. Equality is important because it promotes human dignity, justice, and social harmony. However, equality is not a reality for many people around the world, who face discrimination, oppression, and exclusion based on their gender, race, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or other characteristics.
According to the United Nations, more than 70% of the world’s population live in countries where income inequality has increased in the past three decades. Moreover, millions of people lack access to basic services such as health care, education, water and sanitation due to inequality. Therefore, it is essential to address the root causes and consequences of inequality and to ensure that everyone can enjoy their human rights and freedoms on an equal basis.
FOOD SECURITY
Food security is a vital aspect of human well-being and development. It means that all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.
However, food security faces many challenges such as population growth, climate change, environmental degradation, conflicts, poverty, inequality and malnutrition. At the same time, there are also opportunities for improving food security through innovation, cooperation, policy and governance.
EDUCATION
Education is facing a global crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disrupted learning for more than 1.6 billion learners and affected the quality and equity of education systems. Even before the pandemic, education was challenged by issues such as access, relevance, innovation and sustainability. According to the OECD, more than 260 million children and youth were out of school in 2018, and more than 600 million adults lacked basic literacy and numeracy skills.
It is crucial to increase literacy among the youth and improve education outcomes for all learners, especially the most marginalized and vulnerable groups. This requires investing in quality education, strengthening learning opportunities, fostering inclusion and equity, and promoting lifelong learning.