“Higher Education Saved My Life” — UNESCO Tells Wilfredo’s Story

Earlier this year, UNESCO—the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization—conducted a one-on-one video interview with Wilfredo, one of our resident scholars at Ignacio House of Studies. In the piece, Wilfredo shared his story and spoke at length about the transformative impact higher education had on his life. Since returning home, he has remained active in several advocacy circles, several of which seek to expand educational opportunities for folks behind the prison walls. 

Since the interview, viewers and subscribers to UNESCO’s content voiced considerable interest in Wilfredo’s story and the role that education plays in stories of transformation such as his. In a letter he received from the team at the organization, the sender wrote “[s]ince publishing the interview about prison education on our website, your story has touched so many of our partners and users that we decided to use the interview as a basis for a multimedia story.” Shortly after, UNESCO did just that. In a dynamic multimedia article, Wilfredo shared his story of transformation, in hopes of energizing more and more folks to advocate for greater access to education behind the prison walls. They write, “[Wilfredo’s] story underlines the importance of providing lifelong learning opportunities in prisons and detention centres, as advocated for by the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning.” UNESCO, among its many endeavors, functions as a specialized agency of the United Nations that promotes world peace and security through education and international cooperation through the arts, sciences, and culture. 

To read the full article, click here.