On the occasion of the celebration of the International Day of the Educating City, one of the suggested actions is the public reading of a Manifesto:
On this special day, I’m addressing you all as a member city of the International Association of Educating Cities, a network that includes about five hundred local governments committed to promoting education as a vehicle for social transformation.
We’re here to celebrate the 2023 International Day of the Educating City, under the slogan «Culture, source of creation and learning in the Educating City», an opportunity to highlight our daily work in favour of inclusive education and to reflect on the crucial role that culture plays in constructing our communities and in forming our identities.
Principle 4 of the Charter of Educating Cities clearly lays out our commitment to the right to culture, the participation of everyone in the city’s cultural life, and the promotion of arts education, creativity and innovation as a means of personal, social, cultural and economic development.
Culture is a living, ever-evolving legacy that fosters a sense of belonging. Access to and active engagement in cultural life are vital for everyone’s learning process, and our city provides a privileged setting for this.
Inequalities are reflected in citizens’ access to artistic and cultural education. That is why in [NAME OF CITY], in our capacity as an Educating City, we’re committed to promoting universal access to culture, to recognising and celebrating the various cultures and cultural manifestations in our territory, and to guaranteeing equal opportunities in arts and cultural education.
Culture and art also play a crucial role in social inclusion and the empowerment of vulnerable groups. That’s why we’re committed to creativity and cultural innovation as a form of inclusion, personal growth and harmonious living, while we also nurture cultural projects led by our citizens.
At the same time, we’re aware that collaboration between educational and cultural stakeholder in our city is key to achieving these goals, so we’re creating new spaces for cooperation. On an international level, we set out to bolster our cultural institutions through cooperation and we call for greater prominence of culture in the global urban agenda, with its own objective in the Sustainable Development Goals, in line with the declarations of the “Culture 2030 Goal” movement and UNESCO.
The 2023 International Day of the Educating City is an opportunity to celebrate our achievements in promoting education and culture and also to remember the challenges that we still need to overcome.
Today, [NAME OF CITY] is joining in with the celebration and reaffirming its commitment to building a more inclusive, creative, educating and culturally dynamic city.
Happy 2023 International Day of the Educating City!