As the United Nations prepares to commemorate its 80th anniversary in 2025, a Portuguese language educator's story is capturing international attention through the One Home: Shared Future initiative. Rafaela, a youth advocate from Portugal, shares how multilingual education became her bridge between continents during an exclusive interview with KhabarAsia.com.
Having mastered Chinese during her studies on the Chinese mainland, Rafaela now teaches Portuguese to students in Shanghai. "Language isn't just grammar and vocabulary – it's the key to understanding different worldviews," she explains. Her journey exemplifies the UN's Sustainable Development Goal 4, which seeks to "ensure inclusive and equitable quality education" worldwide by 2030.
"When my Chinese students read Fernando Pessoa poetry in Portuguese, I see their perspectives expand in real time. That's the transformative power of cross-cultural education."
The visual storytelling project, coordinated with UN agencies, has collected over 200 youth narratives from 57 countries since its April 2024 launch. Organizers emphasize that such personal accounts help policymakers understand education gaps – particularly in developing Asian nations where 60% of youth face digital learning barriers according to recent UNESCO data.
