In South Sudan, education is being championed as a foundation for peace, but ongoing conflict and poverty continue to deprive millions of children of the opportunity to learn.
The South Sudanese government said education is crucial to building peace, promoting social cohesion, and equipping young people with skills to resolve conflict.
Some schools, including one in the capital Juba, have even established "peace centers" where students are trained in leadership and peacebuilding. Schools are also playing a role in tackling harmful practices like early and forced marriage.
"We normally inform them that in case they encounter such challenges, you come directly to school, we will be able to support you. Whatever support that is required, is always availed to them," said Chol Reuben Maken, school principal.
Despite these initiatives, the education sector is in crisis. According to UNICEF, South Sudan has one of the highest rates of out-of-school children in the world, with girls making up 75 percent. Over 2.2 million children, more than half of the country's youth population, are not attending school.
The key barriers are poverty and ongoing violence.
"General poverty is a real challenge to many families and therefore access to education becomes less of a priority if you need to feed yourself and cover other basic needs. There are also climate-related events that affect access to education. South Sudan is prone to flooding and it's also prone to heat waves," said Emilie Roy, education chief of UNICEF South Sudan.
The government said it is investing in education as a long-term tool for positive change, stressing that the impact of education goes far beyond academic achievement.
Educated children, officials said, become advocates and peacebuilders who push for equality and challenge harmful practices within their communities, planting the seeds for a more peaceful future.
Still, the challenges are enormous. Many children simply have no schools to attend due to a lack of infrastructure, and where schools do operate, chronic staff shortages and unpaid salaries have left the system struggling.
"My biggest thank you is to my colleagues, the teachers, the teachers of this country that have persevered through all the challenges to make sure that education is progressing and that our kids are taught," said Kuyok Abol Kuyok, minister of General Education.
While UNICEF maintains that education is a primary tool for promoting long-term stability, they also warn that without immediate peace in the country, the opportunity for an education will remain a far off dream for many.
Education seen as peace tool in South Sudan
Education seen as peace tool in South Sudan
A senior Finnish diplomat has expressed strong confidence that Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's ongoing visit to China will yield tangible business outcomes in key areas including the green transition.
Marko Tiesmaki, Minister Counselor at the Finnish Embassy in Beijing, was speaking with the China Global Television Network (CGTN) on Sunday as Orpo arrived to start a four-day official visit to China on the same day.
Tiesmaki believes the prime minister's visit will help further reinforce the strong diplomatic relations between Finland and China, which have spanned decades and have been strengthened through regular high-level meetings in recent years.
With Opro leading a delegation of executives from over 20 Finnish enterprises, Tiesmaki said he expects there will be several "concrete business takeaways" from the trip, with new agreements and contracts opening up new opportunities for various companies.
China is one of Finland's key trading partners, with cooperation focusing on areas such as the low-carbon economy, the circular economy and climate change mitigation.
In 2023, there were over 200 subsidiaries of Finnish companies operating in China, generating a turnover of more than 14 billion euros (16.5 billion U.S. dollars). In 2024, Finland's goods exports to China reached 3.5 billion euros and service exports totaled 1.82 billion euros, while goods imports from China amounted to 7.5 billion euros.
Tiesmaki said that many more Finnish companies are keen to tap into the vast potential of the China market.
"We have at the moment about 250 Finnish companies that we are closely following here [and there are] up to 300 companies we are discussing that are looking into coming into China," he said
"What I personally think and observe, one, is that China has a very strong ecosystem for production manufacturing. And the second thing is that for newcomers, especially, bringing a new innovation from Finland and taking the benefit of the China market, and helping it to scale up and putting them into commercial use, is a very strong combination," he continued.
Tiesmaki also emphasized that the green transition -- an field where Finland is already thriving as it pursues its target of becoming carbon neutral by 2035, 15 years ahead of most other European countries -- is another key sector for cooperation with China, as Finnish firms look to leverage their own innovative solutions.
"The green transition that China is very actively embarking on is a huge opportunity for Finnish companies. Finland is living in the forest. Many Finnish companies for decades already have developed solutions for the energy transition, developing circularity, making sure that there are sustainable solutions available. I believe we have a lot of these type of proven solutions already developed in the Finnish market where China is now moving into. And that gives a natural win-win combination by bringing this competence and applying them into the China market," he said.
Regarding tourism, Tiesmaki noted a 20-percent increase in visitors from China, while eligible Finnish passport holders are now able to enter China visa-free thanks to an expanded policy. With the deepening cooperation and ties between the two countries, the official expressed hope that more flight routes will be opened up to help encourage travel.
"We have, of course, high hopes because we expect that there will be more flight capacity added between our countries. So, if everything goes as planned, there should be 50 percent more flight capacity between China and Finland and this all feeds into the positive development," he said.
Finnish PM's visit to China to deliver concrete business outcomes: official
