The defense of education as a representation of the right of Brazilian citizens to life, emancipation and a more democratic and inclusive country marked the opening speeches of the “IV National Symposium on Research in Philosophy and Education - 20 years of Emancipatory Research by the PAIDEIA Group” , which began this Friday (17) and continues until Saturday at the Faculty of Education (FE) at Unicamp. The event celebrates 20 years of activities of the Study and Research Group in Philosophy of Education (PAIDEIA). “We are here to celebrate what has been done, but also to prepare ourselves to face the new challenges imposed by reality”, Professor César Nunes, general coordinator of PAIDEIA, told the participants.
The first speaker at the symposium was professor Miguel Arroyo, from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). He made a vigorous defense of education and called on those present to increasingly link the right to education to the right to life. According to the professor, the best response to the current attacks and attempts to destroy public education in Brazil is to resist and insist. “What we saw on May 15th was exactly the resistance taking to the streets across Brazil. The demonstration was not just by students and activists, but also by teachers, families and women who fight for education for their children.”
Arroyo said he believes that it is precisely because the most basic human right, which is the right to life, is being attacked that society's need arises to defend education as a guarantor of lives. “If it were just to ensure literacy at the right age, the demonstration would not mobilize so many people. What is mobilizing citizens is a much more radicalized vision of education. Never, as now, has education been so linked to the right to life”, he considered.
In the same vein, César Nunes said that he saw in the demonstrations on May 15th the awakening of society, the repoliticization of the debate and the exposure of the dream once again. “I think this is a movement to resume our struggles, the effort to make education the driving force of a project of rights for all people. Education has the ability to awaken Brazil from a lethargic sleep. The phase of just accounting for suffering has passed. It’s time to roll up our sleeves and build the world we want, a world where everyone can fit in, without distinction of gender, ethnicity, religion or social status.”
The “IV National Symposium on Research in Philosophy and Education - 20 years of Emancipatory Research by the PAIDEIA Group” will continue this Saturday with a series of activities, including a conference and two round tables. Among the topics that will deserve reflection by experts from Unicamp and other universities are Human Rights, Work and Education, Higher Education and Research in Human Rights. The complete program can be seen using this link.
