ThriveWorld squares

Drawings by @damezinart

Education

To develop thriving communities we must educate people and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. This includes basic education in developing countries and lifelong learning in developed countries due to rapid obsolescence of knowledge.

To help us make better choices to make good things happen more often, we must develop our personal and collective ethics- what are sometimes known as "virtues". Educational and lifelong learning systems need to focus on developing high integrity, transparent and fair ethical values that build strength of character and a sense of purpose.

In particular, the education of girls in the developing world is a strategic development priority. Better educated women tend to be more informed about nutrition and healthcare, have fewer children, marry at a later age, and their children are usually healthier, should they choose to become mothers. They are more likely to participate in the formal labor market and earn higher incomes.

All these factors combined can help lift households, communities, and countries out of poverty. According to UNESCO estimates, around the world, 132 million girls are out of school, including 34.3 million of primary school age, 30 million of lower-secondary school age, and 67.4 million of upper-secondary school age.

For example, Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani activist for female education and the youngest Nobel Prize laureate. She is known for human rights advocacy, especially the education of women and children in her native Swat Valley in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, northwest Pakistan, where the local Pakistani Taliban had at times banned girls from attending school. Her advocacy has grown into an international movement, and according to former Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, she has become "the most prominent citizen" of the country