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Event
  • 03.02.2025

Teacher Task Force Annual Meeting 2025

This event is for Teacher Task Force members only

REGISTER HERE.

The Annual Meeting of the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 (Teacher Task Force, or TTF) is an annual gathering of the network’s diverse members. It serves as a crucial platform for reviewing progress, exchanging insights, and collaboratively setting priorities to advance the shared mission of strengthening teacher policy and practice worldwide.

Purpose and role of the 2025 Annual Meeting

As outlined in the Teacher Task Force’s Terms of Reference, the meeting plays a key role in monitoring the implementation of the annual work plan, gathering feedback to shape future priorities, strengthening partnerships and knowledge exchange, and endorsing the elections of Co-Chairs and Steering Committee members to ensure effective leadership. It stands as a cornerstone of accountability, innovation, and collective action, reaffirming the commitment to ensuring that every learner benefits from a qualified and empowered teacher.

Focus of this year’s meeting

The 2025 Annual Meeting aims to foster strengthened and meaningful engagement, offering members the opportunity to reflect on the past year’s achievements and challenges while collaboratively setting priorities for the year ahead. In line with the TTF‘s established practice, the meeting will engage the full network to gather feedback, inform and work collaboratively towards the implementation of the annual work plan. Through dynamic discussions, breakout sessions, and joint decision-making, the meeting seeks to enhance the Task Force’s impact on key issues related to teachers and teaching, building on last year’s momentum and paving the way for the upcoming TTF Strategic Plan.

Agenda

  1. Introduction of new members and SC rotation 

  2. 2024 highlights: Achievements, reflections, and members’ insights 

  3. 2025 priorities: Presentation, collaborative discussions, and feedback

REGISTER HERE.

Event
  • 15.01.2025

International Day of Education 2025

Artificial Intelligence and education: Preserving human agency in a world of automation

The International Day of Education will take place on 24 January 2025 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, from 9:30am to 6:00pm.

Under the theme “AI and education: Preserving human agency in a world of automation”, the Day will explore how education can help people understand and steer AI to ensure human control, while directing it towards desired objectives that respect human rights and advance progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals. The event will feature keynote addresses and discussions with education leaders, including teachers, scholars, policy-makers, and private sector partners. 

Our session on teachers - How can the agency of teachers be cultivated in AI adoption? 

14:30 16:00, Room IV

The Teacher Task Force is co-organizing a breakaway session related to the issue of AI and its implications for teachers, including AI's potential for teaching and learning, possible challenges to agency human agency and autonomy, as well as mitigating strategies to ensure teachers remain central to the education system and are supported in its use.

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education has the potential to transform teaching and learning processes and revolutionize education systems around the world. As AI technologies become more pervasive, it is crucial to ensure that teachers are prepared and empowered by the vast potential for AI to radically transform how education systems function. This panel will discuss how AI can be harnessed by teachers as a new tool for teaching and learning while revaluing and protecting teaching in times of generative AI. With growing concerns that AI could undermine the teaching profession and the delivery of quality education, the panel will argue that teacher agency and autonomy need to remain central to education systems and how the teaching profession should be strengthened to reimagine and contribute to the futures of education.

The potential of AI and the irreplaceability of teachers

AI has tremendous potential to be an important tool to support teaching and learning and revolutionize education in many ways still yet unknown. Nonetheless, its integration must be approached with a steadfast commitment to the irreplaceability of teachers who play a pivotal role in the education process. Implicit to the AI competency framework for teachers, there are several competencies that teachers possess which cannot be replicated by AI. Professional development to enhance these and other competencies will be critical.

AI cannot replace the relational dimension of education. This includes the social and affective connections that teachers establish with their students, which are key for the socialization and the personal development of learners. For instance, teachers motivate and inspire learners by guiding and nurturing them and their learning.

This also includes the critical pedagogical thinking required to know where, when and how to use AI with learners and the potential use they in turn can do of this and other technologies. Since generative-AI is based on the vast repository of data gathered online, including incomplete and non-factual content, teachers must also possess the media and information literacy skills required to evaluate content and discern factual content from misinformation, disinformation and provide balance to the perspectives being presented.

AI requires that teachers bring an ethical dimension to the teaching and learning process. They need to demonstrate and teach values to ensure AI is used ethically covering topics such as legal, privacy, discrimination, safety, intellectual property, and the social right of free access to information.

Lastly, AI contains several biases based on the sources, voices, and languages it draws from for which teachers will have an important role to ensure a greater inclusivity, plurality and diversity of voices, including those from low-income countries, remote and indigenous communities, people with disabilities and ensuring gender equality. Teachers will also have a role in helping to understand, identify and question these inherent biases to help avoid reproducing and legitimizing them. For multiple reasons, AI should be viewed as an aid to teachers rather than a substitute for their expertise and unique competencies.

AI and the deprofessionalization of teaching

While AI has potential for enhancing teaching and, in some cases, carry out tasks teachers alone have completed in the past, there might be red lines that should not be crossed given AI’s potential towards the deprofessionalization of teaching. Controversy abounds, especially where an overreliance on AI could lead to teachers’ loss of key skills and cognitive competencies to make informed professional judgements based on the available information and evidence such as in assessing and evaluating student learning. Moreover, with strains on education systems and teachers’ time, another red line is represented using AI as a long-term solution to deal with deeper structural challenges in education systems originating from a lack of funding, support to teachers and a recognition of teachers’ critical role. Future initial teacher education and continuing professional development efforts will need to incorporate how to use AI in teaching and learning, while also ensuring that basic competencies leading to effective teaching are not neglected but maintained.

AI and the digital divide

Finally, while AI has the potential to enhance accessibility to information, the digital divide that remains globally could deepen exclusion based on a gap between learners, teachers, communities and societies in general. It is essential to consider and address the needs of low-income and developing contexts to ensure an inclusive approach for teaching with and benefiting from AI.

Aim and objectives

In celebration of the International Day of Education on 24 January 2025, UNESCO and the International Task Force on Teachers for Education (Teacher Task Force) or TTF are organizing a breakout session in-person at its headquarters in Paris in Room IV. The event aims to define and defend human agency in AI-enabled education. The breakout session aims to:

  • Examine the irreplaceability of teachers based on their unique human competencies, especially for effective teaching, learning, socialization of learners, critical thinking, and the ethical dimension;
  • Promote the professional development of teachers including critical AI literacies by equipping educators and learners with the competencies needed to understand, use and influence AI technologies, in line with the UNESCO AI competency frameworks for teachers and students; and
  • Discuss how AI can be used equitably to avoid further gaps between learners, teachers, communities and societies, which can reinforce exclusion, differences in learning achievement, other education outcomes and results for societies and economies.
Programme of the session 14:30 16:00, Room IV

Moderator an opening remarks: Mr Carlos Vargas, Chief of UNESCO’s Section for Teacher Development and Head of the Secretariat of the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030

Ms Laura Gregory, Senior Education Specialist and Global Lead on Teachers, World Bank. Question: With the emergence of AI, what are the implications for initial teacher education and continuing professional development? How can low-income countries ensure teachers develop new competencies to address AI?

Mr Jari Lavonen, Professor, University of Helsinki and Chair of the Finnish Education Council. Question: What are the main threats of AI to teacher agency and autonomy? What potential mitigating factors and interventions exist that can ensure teachers remain at the centre of teaching?

Mr Ramon Moorlag, Co-creation Manager, National Education Lab AI, Netherlands. Question: Teachers’ voices are critical to impact decision-making and effective policy making, how can countries reinforce teachers and their unions to ensure their needs are addressed? How can AI be leveraged to alleviate the workloads of teachers?

Mr Ben Garside, Senior Learning Manager (AI Literacy), Raspberry Pi. Question: What are the unique opportunities that AI can bring to teachers, and how can this positively impact teaching? What training opportunities are available and how is Raspberry Pi addressing the issue of language bias in the use of AI tools?

Ms Inès Drège, Coordonnatrice CASNAV, Académie de Dijon. Question: What kinds of challenges is AI presenting in the classroom and what kinds of support would be most useful, including training, resources and other forms of support?

Useful links:
  • This event is in-person only and you can register through this link.

  • For up-to-date information, detailed programme of the event and other relevant documents, please visit this dedicated webpage.
Event
  • 26.11.2024

Global Disability Summit 2025: Teacher Task Force Side Event

The Teacher Task Force Thematic Group on "Inclusion and Equity in Teacher Policies and Practices" will organise a side event at the Global Disability Summit (GDS) 2025, taking place in Berlin, Germany, on April 2-3, 2025. 

The summit is co-hosted by the Governments of Germany and Jordan and the International Disability Alliance (IDA) and will bring together over 3000 participants, including world leaders, organizations, and stakeholders from various sectors.

The GDS aims to increase global commitment to disability-inclusive development, emphasizing that disability inclusion is a fundamental human right and should be prioritized by governments and organizations worldwide. The summit will focus on:

  • Disability inclusion as a key driver of development and resilience.
  • The importance of investing in disability-inclusive policies and practices.
  • Showcasing best practices and successful initiatives from around the world.

The summit will also offer a platform for stakeholders to submit commitments that support disability-inclusive development. Pledges can be submitted starting in June 2024.

More details regarding content and structure of the side event organised by the Teacher Task Force Thematic Group on "Inclusion and Equity in Teacher Policies and Practices" will be shared in due course.

For more information regarding the Summit and to register, click here.

Event
  • 26.11.2024

Global Disability Summit 2025: Teacher Task Force Side Event

The Teacher Task Force Thematic Group on "Inclusion and Equity in Teacher Policies and Practices" will organise a side event at the Global Disability Summit (GDS) 2025, taking place in Berlin, Germany, on April 2-3, 2025. 

The summit is co-hosted by the Governments of Germany and Jordan and the International Disability Alliance (IDA) and will bring together over 3000 participants, including world leaders, organizations, and stakeholders from various sectors.

The GDS aims to increase global commitment to disability-inclusive development, emphasizing that disability inclusion is a fundamental human right and should be prioritized by governments and organizations worldwide. The summit will focus on:

  • Disability inclusion as a key driver of development and resilience.
  • The importance of investing in disability-inclusive policies and practices.
  • Showcasing best practices and successful initiatives from around the world.

The summit will also offer a platform for stakeholders to submit commitments that support disability-inclusive development. Pledges can be submitted starting in June 2024.

More details regarding content and structure of the side event organised by the Teacher Task Force Thematic Group on "Inclusion and Equity in Teacher Policies and Practices" will be shared in due course.

For more information regarding the Summit and to register, click here.

Event
  • 24.10.2024

Valuing, Diversifying, and Investing in the Teaching Profession at the Global Education Meeting 2024

The Teacher Task Force and UNESCO will host a session on teachers at the Global Education Meeting 2024 on 1 November in Fortaleza, Brazil.

Titled "Valuing, diversifying, and investing in the teaching profession," this event will address the pressing global teacher shortage, with an estimated 44 million additional educators needed by 2030.

The session will mark the launch of the Teacher Task Force’s Call to Action as part of its #TeachersMissing advocacy campaign. As the global phase of the campaign concludes, the Call to Action urges immediate and comprehensive action to value, diversify, and invest in the teaching profession, following the recommendations of the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession.

The programme will also feature a presentation of key findings from the Teacher Task Force and UNESCO Global Report on Teachers, emphasizing the challenges in recruiting and retaining teachers worldwide. It will explore strategies to value and support teachers, promote workforce diversity, and secure financial investments to improve working conditions and professional development.

Participants will discuss successful initiatives, policy measures, and the importance of social dialogue to amplify teachers' voices. The event will offer a platform for sharing experiences and innovative approaches to accelerate progress towards SDG 4 by addressing the teacher shortage.

At the event, a call to action will be launched as part of the Teacher Task Force #TeachersMissing advocacy campaign, urging all education stakeholders to take immediate and comprehensive actions to value, diversify, and invest in the teaching profession. This call, aligned with the UNSG High-Level Panel’s Recommendations on the Teaching Profession, will be voiced at the 2024 Global Education Meeting in Fortaleza, Brazil, at the parallel session on Teachers.

Click here for more information on the 2024 Global Education Meeting.

Event
  • 22.10.2024

Launch of the Chinese version of the Global Report on Teachers at the 4th Global Forum for Teacher Professional Development

The Teacher Task Force is pleased to announce the launch of the Chinese translation of its Global Report on Teachers, Addressing teacher shortages and transforming the profession, on 11 November at the 4th Global Forum for Teacher Professional Development, organized by the Teacher Education Centre (TEC). 

Recognizing teachers as essential agents of educational transformation, this hybrid event will focus on strategies to address the pressing global teacher shortage, which poses a significant challenge to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4). The agenda will feature presentations from leading experts representatives from UNESCO Beijing Office and the Chinese Ministry of Education. Carlos Vargas, Head of the Teacher Task Force Secretariat, who will introduce the Report and discuss its implications for teacher policies and practices.

Participants will have the opportunity to explore effective teacher policies, share best practices, and engage in discussions around key challenges and trends affecting the profession. This event aims to bring together educators, policymakers, and stakeholders to collaboratively explore solutions that will enhance the attractiveness of the teaching profession and support teachers' professional development.

To join the event online, please use the Zoom details below:

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83081209309 
Meeting ID: 83081209309 (Passcode: 856201)

 

Event
  • 30.09.2024

Africa Celebration for World Teachers' Day 2024

In the context of the African Union Year of Education and the preparation of a new Continental Strategy for Africa for 2026 to 2035 (CESA 26-35), IICBA is organizing an event ahead of World Teachers Day 2024 at the African Union and online. The draft CESA 26-35 emphasizes three strategic objectives related to teachers: (1) Improve teacher policies, education, professional development, and accountability; (2) Increase the attractiveness of the teaching profession, including issues related to teacher well-being; and (3) Invest in school leadership, including by increasing the share of female leaders where needed. These will topics for discussion throughout the day. After opening remarks, the event will have four sessions: (i) Teacher policies; (ii) Teacher training; (iii) Teacher practices; and (iv) Teacher well-being.

Register here.

Event
  • 30.09.2024

Addressing antisemitism through education: Webinar series for teachers across the European Union

Many teachers will need to teach about antisemitism in their school practice. It might come up as a topic of a history lesson, in questions from students, or because of an antisemitic incident at school. But the available training or lesson plans are not always sufficient. How to react to an antisemitic incident in the classroom? What does contemporary antisemitism look like? How is teaching about the Holocaust relevant to the students’ everyday life? What antisemitic content do students come across online?

This series of seven webinars, organised by UNESCO in partnership with EuroClio, aims to tackle these and similar questions. We want to empower teachers across all EU states by providing not just theoretical knowledge but also practical tools that can be used in the classroom. It will also be a chance to ask questions based on your own experience and perspective.

Organisation

The webinar series takes place between September and December this year (see the dates and titles below). In each webinar, two experts will talk about a selected aspect of antisemitism and answer questions from the audience. With the help of professional interpreters, the webinars can be accessed in three languages: English, French and German. 

The series is intended for teachers and educators from all EU countries, at all levels of schooling, including teacher trainees; however, other participants are also welcome. 

No prior knowledge of antisemitism or of antisemitism education is required.  Participants who attend a minimum of three webinars can request a certificate of participation.

The series is part of the UNESCO project “Addressing antisemitism through education in Europe” in partnership with the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), funded by the European Commission through the Erasmus+ Programme. It also includes a special event on Holocaust denial and distortion, as part of the EU-funded project on countering Holocaust denial and distortion.

#1 - Educating about the history of antisemitism

Tuesday 24 September, 16:00-18:00 CET 

The first webinar explores the long history of antisemitism, its evolution over time, and ways in which educators can highlight the continuity between historical and contemporary antisemitism.

Register

More information

#2 - Educating about antisemitism in relation to other types of prejudice

Tuesday 1 October, 16:00-18:00 CET 

The second webinar of the series explores how antisemitism, racism, misogyny and other types of prejudice can overlap, and the ways to discuss this in the classroom setting.

Register

#3 - Recognising and countering antisemitic stereotypes and prejudice

Tuesday 15 October, 16:00-18:00 CET 

In the third webinar of the series, the speakers present the antisemitic stereotypes and prejudice present in today’s world, and the ways of addressing them through education.

Register

#4 - Countering Holocaust denial and distortion through education

Tuesday 29 October, 16:00-18:00 CET 

The fourth webinar, marking the halfway point of the series, addresses the issues of Holocaust denial and distortion: their background as well as tools to tackle them through education. 

Register

#5 - Building resilience against antisemitism and conspiracy theories on social media

Tuesday 12 November, 16:00-18:00 CET 

The fifth webinar of the series addresses the content as well as forms of antisemitic expressions on social media, paying special attention to conspiracy theories as a vehicle for antisemitism. It also tries to answer the question of resilience against conspiracy theories and against radicalisation.

Register

#6 - Addressing antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred in the context of the current situation in the Middle East

Tuesday 26 November, 16:00-18:00 CET 

In the penultimate webinar, experts address antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred in the context of the situation in the Middle East and present ways of dealing with difficult discussions on the subject in the classroom.

Register

#7 - Responding to antisemitic incidents in schools

Tuesday 17 December, 16:00-18:00 CET 

The final webinar of the series explores approaches to tackling antisemitic incidents or language in schools, as well as less direct antisemitic expressions. In their presentations, experts touch on issues of antisemitism normalisation in entertainment, sport and culture.

Register

More information

 

Event
  • 24.09.2024

Launch of the French Version of the Global Report on Teachers in Collaboration with CONFEMEN

On 5 October, the French version of the Global Report on Teachers will be unveiled at a launch event during the 19th Francophonie Summit in Paris, organised in partnership with CONFEMEN.

This launch is part of the broader activities taking place at the Village de la Francophonie on 5 October, aligning with the day's theme of "teachers as drivers of innovation across the Francophone world". Originally released in English at the TTF Policy Dialogue Forum in Johannesburg in February 2024, the Global Report on Teachers provides vital insights into the state of the global teaching profession. The release of its French version will ensure its key findings and recommendations reach a wider Francophone audience, offering a fresh perspective on teacher development and challenges across the region.

The programme of the event will feature dynamic presentations focusing on the report’s findings. Notable speakers include Carlos Vargas, Head of the Teacher Task Force Secretariat, and Borhene Chakroun, Director of Lifelong Learning Policies at UNESCO, who will share their insights on how innovation in education can reshape the teaching profession. The CONFEMEN stand will host ongoing activities throughout the day, with the opportunity for visitors to discover cutting-edge initiatives targeting teacher development, with contributions from various governments and organizations participating in the summit.

This event will bring together a wide audience, including diplomats, international and national organization representatives, civil society members, and educators, with live streaming and real-time updates shared across social media platforms.

Entry is free to all who wish to attend. For further information, please consult the webpage of the Village de la Francophonie.

Event
  • 23.09.2024

NEU Roundtable at Labour Party Conference on Addressing Global Teacher Shortage

The United Kingdom National Education Union (NEU) is organising a roundtable during the Labour Party Conference to 'soft-launch' its new report, Prioritise teachers to transform education: How tackling the global teacher shortage can unlock the UK’s development agenda.

The event will feature contributions from the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030, focusing on how addressing the global teacher shortage is essential for advancing Sustainable Development Goal 4 and supporting Labour’s wider development goals. Carlos Vargas, Head of the Teacher Task Force, will provide insights from the Recommendations of the UN Secretary-General's High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession and the Global Report on Teachers, emphasising the importance of UK government action on teacher recruitment, retention, and training in the Global South.

Event Goals:

  • Highlight the NEU International report with support from the TTF
  • Engage parliamentarians on the global teacher shortage and its impact on SDG 4
  • Advocate for a global teacher strategy in UK global education and development policy