The COVID-19 pandemic brought forth educational transformation overnight, resulting in increased digitalization and the rise of online and hybrid learning. It also brought on challenges such as inequity in access to education and learning loss.

The “Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum on the Future of Education” will be convened on 24-26 May 2023, via video conference, to discuss inclusive recovery from the challenges brought on by the pandemic and explore steps to invest in the future of education. The ASEAN Secretariat will host the forum virtually, as it will shape the Future of Education Flagship Reports and Policy Briefs, which will include future-oriented insights, recommendations, and pathways for the transformation of education toward attaining ASEAN Education 2050.

The ASEAN Regional Forum on the Future of Education” will discuss 3 thematic areas: 

• Transforming Education Agendas: Building the Future We Want
• Teacher Development: Innovations and Best Practices for the Future of Education and Beyond
• Inclusive ASEAN 2050: Building Equitable Societies and Learning Cities

On 25th May, the session entitled "THE FUTURE OF TEACHING AND LEARNING" will be led by the Teacher Development Chief of Section and the Head of the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 Secretariat M. Carlos Vargas, as he will present the impacts of the developments in the educational technologies brought about by the 4th industrial revolution on the future of education in the region. Teacher education experts on ICT will be invited to define the connection between learning, teaching, new education goals, and employability. 

For more information and to register, visit the official website of the conference.

The second KIX Education Policy and Innovation Conference aims to create a forum for intensifying dialogue between researchers, policymakers, and practitioners from the Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe, Middle East and North Africa. The conference will provide a venue for bridging the seemingly perennial gap between research, policy, and practice. In bringing together educational sector experts and institutions, the conference will mobilize knowledge and provide visibility to national and regional expertise. It welcomes recent data-driven research and best practice, which addresses current national and regional challenges and provides prospective solutions.

Join the panel discussion on Improving coverage and quality in early childhood education 8 June 11:30am (Zurich time) during which UNESCO will present the work done in the framework of the 2022 UNESCO World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), with the support of the Teacher Task Force and its thematic group on ECCE, led by VVOB - education for development.

For more information and to register, visit the official website of the conference.

The second KIX Education Policy and Innovation Conference aims to create a forum for intensifying dialogue between researchers, policymakers, and practitioners from the Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe, Middle East and North Africa. The conference will provide a venue for bridging the seemingly perennial gap between research, policy, and practice. In bringing together educational sector experts and institutions, the conference will mobilize knowledge and provide visibility to national and regional expertise. It welcomes recent data-driven research and best practice, which addresses current national and regional challenges and provides prospective solutions.

Join the panel discussion on Improving coverage and quality in early childhood education 8 June 11:30am (Zurich time) during which UNESCO will present the work done in the framework of the 2022 UNESCO World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), with the support of the Teacher Task Force and its thematic group on ECCE, led by VVOB - education for development.

For more information and to register, visit the official website of the conference.

The Teacher Task Force is organizing a consultation to receive inputs from TTF members on the outline of the first Global Report on Teachers, which will be produced jointly by UNESCO and the TTF. This biennial report will fill a gap within a body of global public goods and aim to use data and analysis to improve teacher-related education policies and programmes focusing on different thematic areas. Its first edition will examine teacher shortages looking at data, the multiplicity of causes, possible factors to address the issue, financing, future research and recommendations.

The aim of the consultation is to receive inputs from TTF members on the outline of the report. Members are invited to provide their inputs on topics and data, case studies, best practices, share relevant bibliography, and major issues that have been not included in the outline. Oral and written comments are welcome during the consultation on 24th May, and written comments also via an online form until 7th June.

The focal points of the Teacher Task Force members who have their accounts on the Knowledge Platform Working Space, can consult the concept note of the consultation here.

If you are a Teacher Task Force member and your focal point doesn't have an account on the Working Space, you can request it here.

We are pleased to announce the open Call for Applications and Nominations for the 2023 edition of the Global Teacher Prize, which will be awarded this year, at a side event, during UNESCO’s General Conference.

Launched in 2014, during the second edition of the Global Education and Skills Forum, in Dubai (United Arab Emirates), the Prize is funded and organized by the Varkey Foundation, in collaboration with UNESCO, and in strategic partnership with Dubai Cares.

By aiming to highlight the central role of educators in all parts of the world, as well as the importance of acknowledging and valuing teachers’ impact on their students and on their communities, the Prize will reward an exceptional teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to their profession. As a result, the selected laureate is presented with a US $1 million award.

Candidates must be currently working as teachers of school-aged children, spend at least ten hours per week teaching face-to-face, and plan to remain in the teaching profession for the next five years.

Applications and nominations may be submitted after registration in the dedicated awards platform 

Candidates will be evaluated by a prominent Global Teacher Prize Academy, composed of various civil society members, including head-teachers, educational experts, commentators, journalists, public officials, tech entrepreneurs, company directors and scientists, from different parts of the world.

• The required criteria for eligibility may be consulted here
• Contact: Ms Nicole Lui (nicole.lui@varkeyfoundation.org), Executive Director at the Varkey Foundation