Opening of the New School Year on the Front Page

Opening of the New School Year on the Front Page

21 August 2026

It is a tradition. At the beginning of the new school year, the front page of the newspaper features a photo of children going back to school. Further inside, there is usually a collage. The crying child who has to let go of their mother for the first time is rarely missing.

But on 21 August 2026, it was different.

The front page carried the tragic news that a fight between two 19-year-old boys had ended with the death of one of them. He was shot and killed. My condolences go out to his family and loved ones. And the life of the young perpetrator has also changed forever. He will carry the consequences of what happened with him for the rest of his life.

An event like this temporarily pushes other problems surrounding education into the background: the shortage of teachers, vandalism at schools, and the closure of dozens of schools as student numbers continue to decline. Fewer children are being born. And many young people leave after secondary school to study abroad and do not return, partly because of the lack of opportunities in the labour and housing markets.

But beneath all these visible problems lies another question: how are our young people actually doing?

Lately, I have regularly run into a director working in mental healthcare. Every time we meet, she urges me to write about the mental health of young people. I have kept putting it off. It is unfortunate that it took such a tragic event to make me stop and reflect on that question again.

We do not know exactly what lies behind this incident, and we should not speculate. But it does compel us to look more broadly at the circumstances in which young people are growing up. At their mental health, their prospects for the future, their sense of belonging, and the opportunities we provide for them to develop.

We can keep identifying problems. What matters more is that we take action.

Pay more attention to young people. Invest in prevention, guidance, sports, culture, and places where they can develop and feel heard. Support initiatives such as Kura di Arte and other organisations that offer young people perspective, structure, and space to grow.

Because every child and every young person we manage to reach matters.

Perhaps that should be the most important message as we begin this new school year.

Miguel Goede