What Human Rights Taught Me About Education
People often assume that when I moved from working in human rights to managing education programmes, I changed fields entirely. I have never seen it that way. The more I work in education, the more convinced I become that I am still pursuing the same mission: helping people build the knowledge, confidence, and opportunities to live with dignity.
That belief is rooted in Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which recognises education as a fundamental human right. More importantly, it states that education should promote the full development of the human personality and strengthen respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. Education is not simply about attending school or earning qualifications. It is about equipping people with the knowledge, values, and capabilities to participate meaningfully in society and shape their own futures.
The right to education is foundational because it makes the fulfilment of many other rights possible. Access to quality education without discrimination creates the conditions for people to develop their potential, participate fully in society, and build better futures. In that sense, education is far more than a development issue—it is the foundation for expanding human potential.
Education Is More Than School
Working in human rights changed the way I understand education. People rarely fall behind because they lack intelligence or potential. More often, they fall behind because opportunities to learn are distributed unequally. Some children grow up surrounded by books, supportive teachers, stable internet access, and families who nurture curiosity. Others experience interrupted schooling because of poverty, conflict, geography, or circumstances beyond their control. When learning opportunities are unequal, education becomes far more than academic achievement; it becomes a pathway to dignity, confidence, and greater agency over one’s future.
This perspective also reshaped the way I think about schools. Schools are indispensable, but they cannot carry the responsibility for learning alone. Most students spend only six to eight hours each day in the classroom, while the majority of their lives unfold elsewhere; at home, with friends, in their communities, and increasingly, in digital spaces. If learning stops once students leave the school gate, we overlook countless opportunities to nurture curiosity, reinforce knowledge, and build the skills people need throughout their lives.
Education, therefore, should not be viewed as a place but as an ecosystem. Schools provide the foundation, while families, communities, peers, technology, and everyday experiences all influence whether learning continues beyond formal education. Expanding educational opportunity does not begin and end with improving schools. It also means creating environments where learning can happen anytime, anywhere, and throughout every stage of life.
The Problem Doesn’t End When School Ends
This is one of the reasons joining Solve Education! felt like a natural continuation of my work in human rights. Although the context is different, the underlying challenge remains remarkably similar: ensuring that opportunities to learn do not disappear once formal education ends.
If education is truly a lifelong process, then one of the biggest questions is what happens after people leave school. Around the world, millions of young people graduate each year yet still struggle to access meaningful employment. At the same time, labour markets are evolving rapidly, demanding digital literacy, adaptability, communication, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills that formal education alone cannot always provide. Bridging the gap between education and livelihood therefore requires more than improving what happens inside classrooms. It requires creating pathways for people to continue learning throughout their lives.
This is where technology can make a meaningful contribution. At Solve Education!, edbot.ai is not designed to replace teachers or classrooms. Instead, it extends learning into the spaces where people already spend much of their time. Whether someone is reinforcing school lessons, preparing for employment, developing new skills, or learning alongside their family, technology can make continuous learning more accessible, flexible, and inclusive. With access to a mobile device and an internet connection, learning no longer needs to be confined to school hours or physical classrooms.
Keeping People at the Centre
Coming from a human rights background, I was used to creating change through direct engagement with communities, partners, and learners. Joining Solve Education! introduced me to a different way of expanding that impact: using technology to reach far more learners than traditional programmes ever could.
Rather than replacing what I had learned, the experience reinforced it. Technology can expand access to learning at scale, but it cannot replace the human relationships that sustain motivation, curiosity, and confidence. People remain at the heart of meaningful learning; technology simply helps extend its reach.
That perspective continues to shape how I approach programme management. Scale matters, but only when it translates into meaningful change for the people behind the numbers. The real measure of success is whether learners gain the confidence, knowledge, and opportunities to improve their lives. To me, technology is not the destination. It is one way to help more people realise their potential through education.
One Mission, Different Path
Looking back, I no longer see my career as a transition from human rights to education. I see education as one of the most practical and sustainable ways to advance human rights. Human rights define the opportunities every person deserves, while education provides the knowledge, skills, and confidence to turn those opportunities into reality.
As artificial intelligence continues to reshape how we live and work, protecting the right to education means more than ensuring children attend school. It means building learning ecosystems that enable people to continue learning beyond the classroom, throughout adulthood, and across every stage of life. To me, the future of education is not a system confined to schools, but an ecosystem that empowers anyone, anywhere, to keep learning.