This World Teachers’ Day, join the global mobilisation calling on governments everywhere to value the voice of teachers, invest in the profession, and in quality public education.
Valuing teacher voices: towards a new social contract for education
Overworked, undervalued, and underpaid, more and more teachers are leaving the profession they love and that the world needs. At the same time, few young people aspire to become teachers. The result is a global shortage of over 44 million teachers, a crisis that puts the right to education at risk. This has prompted a global call to strengthen the profession.
This World Teachers’ Day highlights the need to establish a more robust social dialogue with teachers everywhere. The 2024 celebrations will focus on "Valuing teacher voices: towards a new social contract for education". The theme underscores the urgency of engaging with teachers to address the challenges they face but, most importantly, to acknowledge and benefit from the expert knowledge and input they bring to education.
The official event marking World Teachers' Day will be livestreamed on the UNESCO website on October 4th from 9:30 am (CEST). Education International President Mugwena Maluleke will represent the teaching profession in the event. Tune in!
Join the global mobilisation calling on governments to engage in meaningful social dialogue with the profession. Here’s how you can add your voice.
Share Education International messages
Spread the word by sharing the post below on Twitter.
Teachers are at the ❤️ of education. They must also be at the 💙 of decision-making in education.
✊🏿 For teachers to be heard, education unions must be listened to. - @daveswords
Raise your voice in support of teachers on social networks. Use the suggested posts and images below and don’t forget to tag Education International so we can amplify your message:
If you would like the poster translated to your language, get in touch at [email protected]. We're happy to help!
Related Items
Advancing gender equality in and through education
11 September 2026
5th Education International World Women’s Conference: Rising united for gender justice
Over 300 women education unionists from 57 countries across the world are coming together in Bahia, Brazil for the fifth Education International World Women’s Conference.
Advancing gender equality in and through education
11 September 2026
Communications toolkit | Fifth Education International World Women’s Conference
"Rising united for gender justice: Educating the world, leading change, fighting for democracy"
Women educate the world and are the heart of the global education union movement.
Women make up the majority of educators and outnumber men in most education unions. Yet, this is far from reflected in decision-making or union leadership.
Teacher shortages in the Pacific: Unions call for regional action and teacher commission
Education International Asia-Pacific (EIAP) and Australian education union leaders advance proposals for a Pacific-wide teacher workforce mechanism to strengthen public education and support the teaching profession across the region.
Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4
8 September 2026
New PISA report reveals decline in student performance amid chronic teacher shortage and shrinking attention spans
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has released the latest edition of the Programme for International Student Assessment
(PISA). Following the unprecedented drop in performance recorded in 2022, learning outcomes have largely stagnated or continued to decline in many countries. Shorter attention spans, excessive use of AI, and...
Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4
8 September 2026
Syria: Education International stands with UTNES in defense of Kurdish-language education
Education International stands with the Teachers’ Union of North and East Syria (UTNES) and its members as they defend mother-tongue education, educators’ professional rights, and democratic participation in education reform in their region.
A journey of educational transformation: Kurdistan path’s to the age of AI
Himdad A. Muhammad
The Kurdistan Region of Iraq is an autonomous federal region in northern Iraq, governed by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Following the 1991 uprising against Saddam Hussein's regime and the establishment of an internationally protected safe haven, the region began rebuilding its institutions, including its education system.
