The World Today
The Liberal International convening in Cairo for its 56th Congress emphasizes the crucial role of education for the realisation of a liberal society. Education is a keyprinciple for Liberalism; it prepares human beings for the future. It teaches them to have one’s own opinion and give them a solid base of knowledge and capabilities to fully participate in society. In addition, education facilitates progress for a society as a whole. Education has rescued millions of people around the world from illiteracy and poverty. Knowledge-based economies around the world are built on education and research. Liberals around the world should heart education into their policies, because it is the basic condition for freedom. As the Dutch liberal Ms. Haya van Someren has said:
To whom belongs the child? Isn’t it the highest ideal that it becomes as soon as possible of it’s own, not of someone else, not of the state, not of an idea? This ideal is in a historical perspective one of the most beautiful survivals of the French revolution: to educate a young child to become of its own.
