Africa Teachers Webinar Series

The series is co-sponsored by the Africa Federation of Teaching Regulatory Authorities, the African Union, the European Union’s Regional Teachers Initiative for Africa, and the Global Partnership for Education’s Knowledge and Innovation Exchange, a joint endeavor with the International Development Research Centre. The webinar series is organized by UNESCO’s International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa, which leads the GPE KIX Africa 19 Hub and is a partner in the European Union’s Regional Teachers Initiative for Africa.

Leveraging Technology for Teacher Professional Development

Thursday, 13th March 2025, 3 PM East African Time (GMT+3)

Objectives:

• Explore innovative ways to use technology in Continuous Professional Development (CPD) for teachers.
• Learn from experts from UNESCO, EdTech Hub, South African Council for Educators, and leading institutions across Africa!
• Attend all three webinars and earn a digital certificate of participation

Key speakers:

• Hannah Simmons, Tanzania Country Lead, EdTech Hub, EU RTIA grantee
• Dr. Shafika Isaacs, Chief of Section, Technology and AI, UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France
• Prof Nkobi Pansiri, Head of Department, University of Botswana & Consultant to South African Council for Educators (SACE)
•  Associate Prof Gabriel Job, Head, Educational Technology Department, National Open University of Nigeria
• Dr. Lekopanye Lacic Tladi, Senior Lecturer, Botswana Open University
• Prof. Steve Nwokeocha, University of Calabar, Nigeria & AFTRA

Links: 

• Registration link
• IICBA website

Africa Teachers Webinar Series

The series is co-sponsored by the Africa Federation of Teaching Regulatory Authorities, the African Union, the European Union’s Regional Teacher Initiative for Africa, and the Global Partnership for Education’s Knowledge and Innovation Exchange, a joint endeavor with the International Development Research Centre. The webinar series is organized by UNESCO’s International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa, which leads the GPE KIX Africa 19 Hub and is a partner in the European Union’s Regional Teacher Initiative for Africa.

Designing and Implementing Effective Continuous Professional Development Programs for Teachers

Thursday, February 27, 2025, 3 PM East African Time (GMT+3)

Key Speakers:

• Dr. Ebby Mubanga, Deputy President, AFTRA & Registrar, Teaching Council of Zambia
• Dr. Victoria Kisaakye Kanobe, Senior Project Coordinator, UNESCO IICBA
•  Prof. Betty Ezati, Chairperson of Taskforce, Uganda National Institute for Teacher Education
• Dr. Astérie Nyirahabimana, Assistant Lecturer, University of Rwanda, Kigali
• Dr. Christian Addai Poku, Registrar of the National Teaching Council, Ghana

Links: 

• Registration link
• IICBA website

In the build-up to the Global Disability Summit 2025 to be held on 2-3 April in Germany, the Inclusion and Equity in Teacher Policies and Practices Thematic Group are delighted to invite you to attend three knowledge exchange learning sessions on policies and practices on teachers with disabilities. 

This is the last of three learning sessions. The session will be interactive and participatory. Three members will make short presentations on the topic and participants will be invited to share their experience, evidence and learning in breakout rooms. The session will be facilitated in English; however, we will welcome if there any volunteers who would like to facilitate breakout sessions in different languages.  We will use Team's chat function which allows to translate the conversation in different languages.

 In this session, we are going to focus our discussion on policies and practices on continuing professional development opportunities and career paths for teachers with disabilities. 

• What kinds of opportunities are provided for people with disabilities to participate in teacher training programmes? 
• What are the key challenges and gaps in policy related to supporting teachers with disabilities and their professional growth? 
• What recommendations can be made to better support teachers with disabilities and promote greater inclusion and accessibility in their teaching contexts?  
• What roles Edtech can play in increasing access of teachers with disabilities to continuing professional development? 

As an output of this session, we will produce a knowledge brief.

Please register here.

In the build-up to Global Disability Summit 2025 to be held on 2-3 April in Germany, the Inclusion and Equity in Teacher Policies and Practices Thematic Group are delighted to invite you to attend three knowledge exchange learning sessions on policies and practices on teachers with disabilities. 

This is the second of three learning sessions. The session will be interactive and participatory. Three members will make short presentations on the topic and participants will be invited to share their experience, evidence and learning in breakout rooms. The session will be facilitated in English ; however, we will welcome if there any volunteers who would like to facilitate breakout sessions in different languages. We will use Team's chat function which allows to translate the conversation in different languages. 

 In the second session, we are going to focus our discussion on recruitment and deployment of teachers with disabilities.  

• What recruitment policies and programmes/initiatives have been effective for increasing the number of teachers with disabilities? 
• What considerations are made for teachers with disabilities when they are recruited and deployed? 

As an output of this session, we will produce a knowledge brief. 

 Please register here.

In the build-up to Global Disability Summit 2025 to be held on 2-3 April in Germany, the Inclusion and Equity in Teacher Policies and Practices Thematic Group are delighted to invite you to attend three knowledge exchange learning sessions on policies and practices on teachers with disabilities. 

This is the first of three learning sessions. The session will be interactive and participatory. Three members will make short presentations on the topic and participants will be invited to share their experience, evidence and learning in breakout rooms. The session will be facilitated in English language; however, we will welcome if there any volunteers who would like to facilitate breakout sessions in different languages.  We will use Team's chat function which allows to translate the conversation in different languages. 

In the first session, we are going to focus our discussion on attracting people with disabilities to the teaching profession and pre-service training. 

• What policies and guidelines exist in member countries to attract  people with disabilities to the teaching profession? 
• What kinds of supports are provided for people with disabilities to participate in teacher training programmes? 
• What are challenges and policy gaps in policy related to supporting people with disabilities to join teacher training programmes? 

As an output of this session, we will produce a knowledge brief. 

 Please register here.

Carlos Vargas, Head of the Teacher Task Force Secretariat, will participate in the webinar "Amplifying Teachers' Voices," organized by the Jacobs Foundation on 18 November at 3:00 pm CET.

Hosted by Nina Alonso, an international educational researcher specializing in equal access to learning and culture, this teacher-led, global event will spotlight teachers' stories, elevate the teaching profession’s status, and foster dialogue between educators and key stakeholders in teacher development.

The event will also introduce the new Teachers' Voices online repository—a resource of teacher stories and educational research designed to support teachers and educational stakeholders worldwide.

For further information and to register, please click here.

Global School Leaders (GSL) and the UNESCO Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report will host the first-ever School Leadership Matters Summit. This three-day virtual event, running from November 5–7, 2024, will spotlight the critical role of school leadership in driving education transformation, particularly in the Global South. Global School Leaders are co-leads of the Teacher Task Force School Leadership Thematic Group.

The School Leadership Matters Summit will feature over 35 distinguished speakers, including school leaders, policymakers, researchers, NGOs, and education experts, who will discuss pressing issues in school leadership. As part of the event, members of the Teacher Task Force’s School Leadership Network will be represented across various sessions, sharing their insights and experiences.

Coinciding with the launch of the 2024 UNESCO GEM Report on Education Leadership, this Summit presents an invaluable opportunity to engage with the latest research and shape global discussions on effective school leadership. School leaders will play a central role, participating in panels alongside experts and policymakers and hosting their own School Leaders Lounge on Days 2 and 3.

Click here for more information and to register for the event.

The objective of the webinar is to build capacity of Vocational Education and Training (VET) leaders and practitioners on the use of Open Educational Resources (OER), as a way to increase the innovation potential and inclusion of their educational offer. OER are  teaching and learning materials intentionally released with open licenses, that give users the right to own, share, and in most cases, modify them. Within Higher Education, the use of OER has shown the potential to reduce accessibility barriers and at the same time to support co-creation practices, but in the VET sector the use of these approaches is still limited.

During the webinar, the concept of OER will be introduced and exemplified through some successful practices of VET schools that are using OER in their daily work, followed by a discussion on how to further promote the use of such resources in TVET.

Register here.

Agenda

15:00 Welcome and Introduction to the webinar, Fabio Nascimbeni, ETF

15:05 Open Educational Resources: a smart approach for inclusion and innovation, Lisa Petrides, ISKME and ICDE

15:30 Cases of high-impact OER use within VET

• OER Champions for colleges in Ontario. Mary Gu, eCampus Ontario
• AI and OER, Open Content for Future Learning, Ulf Ehlers, Dual University of Baden Wuttemberg

16: 00 Existing OER support tools for VET practitioners and leaders

• The OER practices collection, Max Ehlers, UNESCO-UNEVOC
• The OER Advocacy Committee, ICDE, Ebba Ossiannilsson

16:20 Ideas and questions collection for future work

16:30 Closing

The Teacher Task Force will participate in the seminar "Empowering Teachers: Building Sustainable Societies," taking place on 3 October 2024, in Abu Dhabi. Organized by the Regional Center for Educational Planning (RCEP) and Trends Research & Advisory, the seminar will address how empowering teachers is key to building sustainable and inclusive societies.

The RCEP, established in partnership with UNESCO and the UAE, plays a critical role in developing capacities for educational planning in Arab countries and the Gulf Cooperation Council. Aligned with World Teachers' Day, the seminar will focus on enhancing teacher professional development, integrating sustainability into education, and sharing innovative approaches to teacher career advancement.

Carlos Vargas, Head of the Teacher Task Force Secretariat, will present key findings from UNESCO's recent Global Report on Teachers, focusing on the support needed for teachers to thrive. The event will bring together teachers, policymakers, educational managers, and key stakeholders from across the region to discuss strategies and share best practices for supporting teachers.

Seminar objectives:

• Discuss the future development of the teaching profession and its role in sustainable communities
• Share best practices from education and sustainability experts
• Highlight the impact of influential teachers on society
• Enhance collaboration among teachers, policymakers, and stakeholders
• Examine strategies for integrating sustainability into teaching curricula

Agenda highlights:

• Discussions on future development of teaching careers
• Presentations on teacher-led reforms and sustainability in education
• Insights from key figures including RCEP Director Mahra Hilal Al Mutaiwei and other distinguished speakers from the UAE Ministry of Education and educational institutions

By contributing to this dialogue, the Teacher Task Force continues its mission to elevate teacher voices and build sustainable educational systems globally.