23 January 2024

Today the world celebrates the International Day of Education, and at the Right to Education Initiative we are proud to publish this specially commissioned image made by artist Andy Lemar Orand. 

While those who work in education and rights often consider the abstract, the fundamental, and the theoretical, Education Day is a moment to remember that education is central to who we are, to our development as individuals, and to our understanding of the world that surrounds us.

Crucially, as this image by 12 year old artist Andy powerfully displays, at the heart of education is enjoyment: the enjoyment of learning, the enjoyment of the company of peers and teachers, and the enjoyment of growing in a safe, secure, and inclusive environment. 

© Andy Lemar Orand

Andy says: 'I've drawn my dream school: not too many pupils in the class, an interesting teacher and friends to have fun with :) A school where we all welcome each other, with our differences, and where the pupils are happy, that's why they smile and why there are lots of colours.'

Education is a human right. But it is not just access to a classroom that matters. It is access to the essence of education that we all need - and this is, as Andy shows, a place in which we are safe, well cared for, welcomed in all our complexity of differences and similarity, and where we enjoy our peers and the learning experience. 

We extend our thanks to Andy Lemar Orand for this beautiful illustration.

Find out more about the right to free, quality, inclusive, public education - the right to which we are all entitled - here.