International Day

Our municipalities have become true laboratories of learning where every corner offers opportunities for knowledge and innovation. In addition to traditional educational institutions, libraries, museums, theaters, community and sports centers, and a wide range of experiences and activities promote personal and community growth.

Parks, plazas, and streets in the city can also become outdoor classrooms where the exchange of ideas and experiences is encouraged. Our heritage, along with urban interventions (monuments, murals, sculptures, etc.), also acts as educational tools, inspiring citizens and promoting dialogue and reflection on cultural, historical, or specific values. Festivals, gastronomic fairs, and traditional celebrations, as moments of gathering, allow us to learn about different cultures and traditions and to value diversity.

Green spaces, recycling programs, and responsible consumption, to name a few, teach us about the importance of conservation and environmental care, promoting active community participation in building greener and more sustainable municipalities. In short, this endless array of learning opportunities in our towns and cities shows us that they are a great classroom that never stops teaching and transmitting knowledge and values. The learnings derived from these experiences, which contribute to forming a conscious, responsible, and active citizenry, are what Educating Cities want to harness to transform our municipalities into more inclusive places.

Therefore, the theme for this year’s 2024 International Day celebration is: «The Educating City as a Laboratory of Learning, Citizenship, and Social Transformation.»

This celebration is an excellent opportunity to reflect on the learning opportunities our cities offer and to show the world our commitment to civic education and building a better future.

To achieve the desired impact, we invite each and every city in the network to enthusiastically join this celebration. If all educating cities unite in a global celebration, we will demonstrate the importance of this day and the contribution of local governments to the change of course humanity needs. Let’s use social media and local media to spread the word about activities to a broader audience.

We encourage you to organize activities, motivate and involve organizations, schools, and other local groups to create a diverse and attractive program of activities that align with the day’s theme.

Happy International Day of the Educating City!

Lluís Rabell

IAEC Delegated Chairman and Councilor of the Neighborhood Plan, Education, and Promotion of the Elderly in Barcelona. Councilor of the Horta-Guinardó District.

We want to highlight that the city itself is a huge classroom and a laboratory for experimentation, experience, and knowledge. A classroom shaped by its streets, squares, parks, and its educational, cultural and sports facilities, all of which are meeting points where human relationships are forged and where we can learn from the diversity of people, cultures and generations, each with its own particularities but all found in the same space. Our cities are also a forum for citizen demands, making it possible to achieve social transformations that are part of their urban history.

As stated in the preamble of the Charter of Educating Cities: «In the Educating City, education transcends the school walls to permeate the entire city. This leads to a citizen-focused education, where all administrations assume their responsibility to educate and transform the city into a space of respect for life and diversity. The Educating City is a permanent process that sets out to build communities and autonomous and supportive citizens, capable of living side by side despite differences, of peacefully solving their conflicts, and of working towards the common good».

And it is precisely with this idea of working towards the common good and educating reflective, responsible and committed citizens that we believe you should celebrate the 2024 International Day of the Educating City, with a view to continuing to transform our cities — through education — into more inclusive places.

Today, on the International Day of the Educating City, I’m addressing all of you as a member city of the International Association of Educating Cities. The Association groups together about 500 local governments from 28 countries, all committed to education as a driving force behind social transformation.

Under the theme of «The Educating City as a Laboratory for Learning, Citizenship, and Social Transformation», today we’re highlighting the key role of our municipality as a living classroom of learning and a laboratory of experimentation. All corners of our neighbourhoods intertwine culture, history and knowledge, experiences and human relationships, creating a fabric rich in learning opportunities.

As stated in the preamble of the Charter of Educating Cities, to which we are passionately committed: «In the Educating City, education transcends the school walls to permeate the entire city. This leads to a citizen-focused education, where all administrations assume their responsibility to educate and transform the city into a space of respect for life and diversity».

[COUNCIL NAME] is committed to being a true urban learning laboratory. Therefore, we want every urban intervention, every facility, every municipal programme and service to become educational tools that teach us about our history, our culture, our values and the importance of taking care of life and taking care of our planet.