Education as a human right

Ursula Baatz, curator of the Symposium Dürnstein

Education and culture are human rights. Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms the right to education, and Article 27 affirms the right to participate in and enjoy cultural life. For the Declaration of Human Rights, education does not equal training but also includes the "full development of the human personality." Therefore, education is not simply an improved kind of drill. Education promotes the ability of self-cultivation, which is the self-determined development of the personality. This includes art, philosophy and religion as well as dance, knowledge of nature, cooking or music. While all ancient cultures included ways of self-cultivation, these were usually reserved for an elite. In a democracy, these paths should be opened and available to all those who constitute the community.