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:
Agenda highlights:
By contributing to this dialogue, the Teacher Task Force continues its mission to elevate teacher voices and build sustainable educational systems globally.
Teachers play a key role in ensuring students thrive and succeed in their learning journeys. However, a global teacher shortage poses a significant threat to the quality of education, with millions of children unable to acquire event basic skills. While teaching remains one of the most rewarding professions, currently challenges seem to be pushing qualified educators out of classrooms and discouraging young people from entering the teaching profession.
The International Task Force on Teachers, in collaboration with UNESCO and ILO, recently released the first Global Report on Teachers, addressing the critical issues that need to be tackled to reverse this worrying trend. Additionally, the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession published key recommendations to strengthen the profession.
We invite you to join us for a webinar hosted by Norad, where these pivotal reports will be presented, followed by insights from the President of the Union of Education Norway.
Tentative program:
The session will be moderated by Gerd-Hanne Fosen, Education Policy Director, Norad
Click here to register for the webinar.
Related links:
Teachers play a key role in ensuring students thrive and succeed in their learning journeys. However, a global teacher shortage poses a significant threat to the quality of education, with millions of children unable to acquire event basic skills. While teaching remains one of the most rewarding professions, currently challenges seem to be pushing qualified educators out of classrooms and discouraging young people from entering the teaching profession.
The International Task Force on Teachers, in collaboration with UNESCO and ILO, recently released the first Global Report on Teachers, addressing the critical issues that need to be tackled to reverse this worrying trend. Additionally, the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession published key recommendations to strengthen the profession.
We invite you to join us for a webinar hosted by Norad, where these pivotal reports will be presented, followed by insights from the President of the Union of Education Norway.
Tentative program:
The session will be moderated by Gerd-Hanne Fosen, Education Policy Director, Norad
Click here to register for the webinar.
Related links:
Coinciding with the DOAC and the mid-point in 2024 AU Year of Education, this #BorntoLearn event aims to put support for teachers at the top of the continental agenda.
Click here to register.
One in five primary school-age children in sub-Saharan Africa are out of school; their number is nearly as high as it was in 1990. Only two in three children in the region complete primary school by age 15. Among those who do, only 3 in 10 achieve the minimum proficiency level in reading, meaning that barely one in five children do so overall.
Highlighting the need for alignment across countries’ vision on foundational literacy and numeracy with curriculum development, textbook provision, pedagogy and assessment practices, the 2024 Spotlight Report underscores the importance of teachers to bring the change we design on paper to children in the classroom. It shows the need for better teacher support, who have a wish list of ‘if only I had more…’ that goes unanswered by leaders still expecting to see change in learning on the ground. This campaign will help clear the list!
Timed to coincide with the Day of the African Child and marking the mid-point in 2024 AU Year of Education, this online #BorntoLearn event aims to put support for teachers at the top of the continental agenda and highlight the importance of foundational learning to enable all children to reach their full potential and participate in society.
The event aims to:
Featured speakers:
Resources
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:
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.