Consultation on the revision of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers and the 1997 UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher-Education Teaching Personnel

On 18 June, an online consultation will be held from 13:00-15:00 (Paris time) with members of the Teacher Task Force on revising the 1966 International Labour Organization and UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers and the 1997 UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher-Education Teaching Personnel.

The 1966 and 1997 Recommendations set international standards for the rights and responsibilities of educators at all levels. These recommendations serve as a foundation for developing effective teacher policies, standards, and practices. However, significant changes over the past decades have presented new challenges that these recommendations do not fully address. Emerging trends such as increased diversity, digital technologies, crisis-affected contexts, new teacher qualification pathways, and gender equity issues necessitate a revision of these recommendations.

The aim of this consultation is to gather inputs from TTF members regarding the potential revision of these international normative instruments. These inputs will inform the Preliminary Study on the Technical and Legal Aspects relating to the Desirability of Revising the 1966 and 1997 Recommendations, to be analyzed at the UNESCO Executive Board's next session in Autumn 2024.

The discussion will be guided by the most recent and relevant literature, namely the Recommendations of the High-level Panel (HLP) on the Teaching Profession and the 2024 Global Report on Teachers: Addressing teacher shortages and transforming the profession. The conversation will be divided into eight breakout rooms – each dedicated to one of the two Recommendations and split per language group. It will be based upon three main pillars:

• Emerging challenges concerning the teaching profession,
• Desirability of revising the Recommendations, and
• Suggestions of revisions to the text of the Recommendations.

Participants will be invited to provide oral and written comments during and after the consultation.

The consultation will last 120 minutes and will be conducted in English, with breakout rooms organized and moderated in English, French, Spanish, and Arabic.

This event is by invitation only for Teacher Task Force members and partners. If you wish to participate and you haven't received your invitation, please contact Ms Angela Crovace a.crovace@unesco.org.