Replay:

• Learn more on the Prize finalists

• Teacher Voices video testimonies as part of the #TeachersMissing advocacy campaign
• Read about the leaureates

World Teachers’ Day is held annually on 5 October to celebrate all teachers around the globe. It commemorates the anniversary of the adoption of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers, which sets benchmarks regarding the rights and responsibilities of teachers, and standards for their initial preparation and further education, recruitment, employment, and teaching and learning conditions. The Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher-Education Teaching Personnel was adopted in 1997 to complement the 1966 Recommendation by covering teaching personnel in higher education. World Teachers’ Day has been celebrated since 1994.

It is a day to celebrate how teachers are transforming education but also to reflect on the support they need to fully deploy their talent and vocation, and to rethink the way ahead for the profession globally.  

World Teachers’ Day is co-convened in partnership with the International Labour Organization (ILO), UNICEF and Education International (EI).

Valuing teacher voices: Towards a new social contract for education

Teachers play a pivotal role in shaping the future by nurturing students and driving educational progress. However, to fully harness their potential, it's crucial that their voices are heard and valued in the decision-making processes that affect their profession. This year’s World Teachers’ Day highlights the need to address the systemic challenges teachers face and to establish a more inclusive dialogue about their role in education. 

The 2024 celebrations will focus on "Valuing teachers' voices: towards a new social contract for education." The event will emphasize the importance of integrating teachers' perspectives into educational policies and fostering a supportive environment for their professional development. This theme responds to the significant challenges highlighted by the UN Secretary General’s High-level panel on the Teaching Profession, and our recent Global Report on Teachers, including a growing shortage and declining working conditions., including a growing shortage and declining working conditions. 

The day will feature an opening ceremony with high-level messages from UNESCO, ILO, UNICEF, and Education International. It will also include a keynote address on the necessity of a new social contract in education and a segment showcasing teachers’ voices from the room and around the world, sharing their insights on improving policies and practices. Additionally, the UNESCO-Hamdan Prize for Teacher Development will be awarded, celebrating outstanding contributions to teacher development. 

Teacher Task Force #TeachersMissing campaign

This year’s focus underscores the urgency of calling for and attending to teachers' voices to address their challenges but, most importantly, to acknowledge and benefit from the expert knowledge and input that they bring to education. As part of the Teacher Task Force #TeachersMissing campaign, the morning teacher voices session will be the occasion to give the floor to teachers in the room and to showcase the video testimonies of teachers from around the globe.

Event format

World Teachers' Day 2024 will be held in a hybrid format, offering both in-person and virtual participation options. The event will take place in-person at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France, Rooms I and IV. Interpretation in French, Spanish, English, Arabic, and Portuguese will be available. The public will be invited to actively participate and engage in the discussions.

More information

The programme, concept note and all the communications assets can be found on the official UNESCO World Teachers' Day webpage.

ONGOING

With the theme "The teachers we need for the education we want: The global imperative to reverse the teacher shortage", the 2023 celebrations will aim to put the importance of stopping the decline in the number of teachers and then starting to increase that number at the top of the global agenda. Through various activities, it will advocate for a dignified and valued teaching profession, analyse their challenges, and showcase inspiring practices to attract, retain and motivate teachers and educators. It will also examine the ways in which education systems, societies, communities, and families recognise, appreciate, and actively support teachers.

World Teachers’ Day is co-convened in partnership with the International Labour Organization (ILO), UNICEF and Education International (EI).

The events on 5 October will be hybrid (both in person at the UNESCO Headquarters 7, place Fontenoy, 75007 Paris, France and online) and events on 6 October will be online only.

Get involved!

• Consult the social media pack
• Read the factsheet 
• Watch the live streaming
• E-visit the exhibition 

List of events:

Recognition and appreciation: the role of teacher prizes in enhancing the status of the profession

5 October 11:00 - 1:00 pm (Paris time), Room IX, UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France

Register here to participate in person and here to participate online.

All over the world, we find a wide variety of prizes aimed at rewarding outstanding practices in the teaching profession, ranging from schools to adult and higher education, and covering different fields of study. There are international, regional and national prizes, such as the UNESCO-Hamdan Prize for Teacher Development, the Global Teacher Prize, the African Union Continental Teacher Prize, the European Innovative Teaching Award, and many National Teacher Prizes. This panel aims to discuss the role of teacher prizes as symbols of recognition of the work undertaken by educators, as an essential form of contribution to the improvement of their status within the community and, ultimately, as a lever to raising the appeal of the profession. 

2023 World Teachers’ Day Opening Ceremony

5 October 2:30-4:30 pm (Paris time), Room IX, UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France

Register here to participate in person and here to participate online.

After opening remarks of the co-conveners of World Teachers’ Day, the event will present critical data on the appeal of the teaching profession, highlighting teacher voices on what they find attractive and challenging in the profession. An open conversation will be organized with the co-conveners, decision-makers, and experts from the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession, who will present what they see as the priority actions needed to make the profession more appealing in the years ahead. 

Teacher education in emergencies to support attraction and well-being

6 October 12:00-2:00 pm (Paris time), online event, register here to participate online.

A two-hour roundtable convened by the Global Education Coalition (GEC) with the support of UNHCR, the Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies (TBC), and the TTF will explore the unique challenges of maintaining the appeal of the profession in emergency contexts. The session will include a short introduction of the current project being implemented by GEC in Ukraine, and programmes in crisis and emergency contexts to ensure that teachers in hardship situations can continue to teach through a suite of resources and approaches focused on digital, pedagogical, and socio-emotional skills. The roundtable will be followed by a discussion on the support teachers need to realize their commitment and their vocation in the most difficult contexts. 

Global pathways to an attractive teaching profession 

6 October 3:00-5:00 pm (Paris time), online event, register here to participate online.

A two-hour workshop co-convened by the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 (TTF) and Education International (TBC) will explore national and regional policy responses and programmes to improve the appeal of the teaching profession in response to the global shortage on teachers. There will be a plenary session with presentations by TTF members on initiatives and evidence on improving the attraction and retention of qualified and motivated teachers, followed by regional breakout sessions for participants (policy makers, teacher unions, TTF members, teachers) to explore localised challenges and responses in more depth.

Consult the official UNESCO World Teachers' Day page for more information and updates.