Wednesday, 24 January, is the International Day of Education. Education is a human right, as well as a public good and responsibility, according to the United Nations (UN).

“The right to education is enshrined in article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The declaration calls for free and compulsory elementary education. The Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted in 1989, goes further to stipulate that countries shall make higher education accessible to all,” it says.

This year’s theme is “Learning for Lasting Peace”.

Roughly 244 million children and adolescents around the world are not in school, 617 million children and adolescents cannot read and do basic maths, less than 40% of girls in sub-Saharan Africa complete lower secondary school, and four million children and youth refugees are out of school.

On Wednesday, 24 January at 5pm, South African Jews for a Free Palestine will host a talk and Q&A at the Nakba Memorial Forest at Constitution Hill to honour Tu B’Shvat / Jewish New Year of the Trees — a day of ecological awareness. 

The theme for the event is: Between River and Sea: Genocide and Ecocide. 

“Please join SAJFP at the Nakba Memorial forest to reflect on Israeli war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity as they relate to crimes against the environment,” read the poster.

Friday, 26 January, is the International Day of Clean Energy. 

The day was declared by the General Assembly as a call to raise awareness and mobilise action for a just and inclusive transition to clean energy for the benefit of people and the planet, according to the UN. 

“In a world grappling with climate change, clean energy plays a vital role in reducing emissions, and can also benefit communities lacking access to reliable power sources. Still today, 675 million people live in the dark — 4 in 5 are in Sub-Saharan Africa,” it says. 

Saturday, 27 January, is the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust. 

The theme this year is “Recognising the Extraordinary Courage of Victims and Survivors of the Holocaust”. 

On Sunday, 28 January at 6m, journalists in South Africa will host a vigil to remember their colleagues who have been killed, injured, and imprisoned while covering the genocide in Palestine. Vigils will be held at Mary Fitzgerald Square in Johannesburg, St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town, University of KwaZulu-Natal Howard Campus in Dubran, and Drostdy Arch at Rhodes University in Makhanda. 

Attendees are encouraged to wear black, bring candles with paper cups, and permanent markers to immortalise colleagues on the remembrance banner. 

Those unable to attend in person can make their tribute using #forgazajournos. 

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Ndifuna Ukwazi is looking to appoint an attorney to join their team in Cape Town. 

The deadline for applications is 24 January 2024.

See the link for more information. 

The Institute for Economic Justice is looking for a Climate Intern to contribute to a project called Climate Ambition to Accountability Project (Caap).

The application deadline is 28 January 2024

See the link for more information. DM