Paulo Freire: 103 years of world-renowned Brazilian patron of education

On September 19, we celebrate one of the greatest Brazilians of the 20th century. If he were alive, Paulo Freire would have been 103 years old.

Genius educator, patron of Brazilian education, Paulo Freire is doctor honoris causa (honorary doctorate degree) of half a hundred universities in Brazil and abroad. The classic "Pedagogy of the Oppressed" is the third most cited work in the world in the field of Humanities.

I had the pleasure and honor of spending time with him. I bear witness to his deep love for human beings, especially the oppressed – those who, in his words, have been "robbed of their right to be." To them, Paulo Freire dedicated his work and his life.

He believed in peaceful revolution through education. "Education does not transform the world. Education changes people. People transform the world," he said.

He was persecuted, expelled from the university, arrested and exiled by the military dictatorship. A quarter of a century after his death, he remains feared and hated by the extreme right, which is a fierce enemy of education and the construction of a world free from inequality.

However, the persecution he suffers after his death only increases the sale of his books and the interest, even of the youngest, in his ideas, in Brazil and abroad.

Paulo Freire lives. Long live Paulo Freire.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, president of the Republic