UNITED NATIONS GIRLS EDUCATION INITIATIVE

Live testimonies from teachers supporting recovery worldwide and a photo exhibition which shows teachers in demanding situations are among the high points of the World Teachers’ Day celebrations on 5 October in UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris.

Both the “Tribute to Teachers” exhibition, inaugurated by the Director-General of UNESCO, and the Official World Teachers’ Day Ceremony, chaired by UNESCO ‘s Assistant Director-General for Education, will be made available online via podcasts, video interviews and a virtual exhibition. 

The day’s activities will also include presentations of the latest statistics on teachers; initiatives to promote excellence in teaching; developments from the Task Force on Teachers for Education For All; teacher education activities of the UN Relief and Works Agency and how new technologies can accelerate teacher development. 

There will also be a panel of signatories to the World Teachers’ Day Message: Education International (EI); the International Labour Organisation (ILO); the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) as well as UNESCO.

Every year, on 5 October, World Teachers’ Day is an occasion to celebrate teachers, but also to draw attention to their status, employment conditions and the needs of countries where teacher recruitment is not keeping pace with increases in student enrolment.

Teachers are the most important education resource. Quality education cannot happen without them. But their numbers do not match the EFA goal s - just to reach universal primary education by 2015, an additional 1.9 million new trained teachers are needed. It is important that gender equality amongst teachers is prioritized as a means to overcoming social norms and governments should strive to provide gender sensitive teacher training to equip teachers to tackle these issues. This is why UNESCO and its partners are calling on governments and the international community to increase investments in teachers.