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
Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4
17 December 2025
Prioritizing teacher pay in crisis: global challenges and opportunities
Education International took an active part in the 2025 Global Refugee Forum Progress Review, advocating for the global education community to prioritize teachers in contexts affected by crisis and displacement, building upon new research on international donor support for teacher salaries.
Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4
15 December 2025
Cambodia: Trade unions’ united push for greater national investment in public education and teachers
The Cambodian education system continues to face acute teacher shortages, with average class sizes reaching around 44 students in rural areas and up to 71 students in major cities such as Phnom Penh. Teachers’ salaries also remain insufficient to ensure a decent standard of living, contributing to low morale, high...
Trade union rights are human rights
12 December 2025
The fight for political independence in Iraqi Kurdistan’s classrooms
In Iraqi Kurdistan, a new front in the struggle is emerging following on recent Iraqi National Council elections. Educators are raising the alarm about the growing political influence in schools, warning that the sanctity of education is under threat.
Fighting the commercialisation of education
9 December 2025
Trust cannot be automated: education unions shape the AI future
Around the world, artificial intelligence is being rapidly integrated into education systems. Governments and technology companies promise efficiency, “personalised learning” and data-driven decisions. But for teachers and their unions, AI raises far more fundamental questions: Who controls education? What happens to professional autonomy, democratic accountability, equity and labour rights when...
Artificial intelligence in education
1 December 2025
Communications Toolkit: Shaping Our Future. Education Unions Leading for a Human-Centred AI
4-5 December 2025 | Brussels, Belgium
Education International's conference, Shaping our future: Education unions leading for a human-centred AI, brings together union leaders, educators and experts from across the globe to exchange strategies, develop collective responses and advance a human-centred, rights-based approach to AI in education and research.
Education leaders call for urgent action to address global crisis in the teaching profession
World Summit on Teachers presents roadmap to address 50 global million teacher shortage and fully fund public education
SANTIAGO, CHILE – As ministers and education leaders prepare to convene for the World Summit on Teachers (WST) on 28-29 August 2025, the global teaching profession faces an unprecedented recruitment and retention crisis. The world needs 50 million more teachers by 2030 across early childhood, primary and secondary education, yet...
