As ministers and education leaders prepare to convene for the World Summit on Teachers (WST) on 28-29 August, 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 qualified educators are fleeing classrooms due to systematic government failures.
The WST, convened by UNESCO and hosted by the Government of Chile, brings together ministers, UN agencies, teacher unions, civil society organisations and education experts to address the shortage and advance implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 4 - inclusive and equitable quality education for all.
Building on this commitment to transformation, Education International arrives in Santiago with a clear framework for addressing the global teacher shortage that centers on concrete solutions and immediate action.
Teacher voices from across all continents will bring firsthand accounts of public education systems under pressure. Their unified message: structural transformation is essential, not cosmetic fixes.
Post about the Summit
Here are sample messages that you can share on your social media:
📢I am joining colleagues at the UNESCO World Summit on Teachers to call on governments to address the global teacher shortage of 50 million and commit to fully funding public education.
👩🏼🏫👩🏽🏫👩🏿🏫The World Summit on Teachers is an unprecedented opportunity to move from words to action!!! Governments MUST commit to fully funding public education and investing in teachers.
Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4
24 April 2026
Reversing the austerity of joy in education
Ed Harlow
I am not someone who always wanted to be a teacher. I had no idea what I wanted to do when I finished my A-levels but generally felt that I’d be OK as long as I didn’t end up back in a school. But in my mid-20s, having worked in,...
Educators in North Asia stand for climate justice and a just transition
Education unions from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Mongolia reaffirmed their commitment to people and planet at the Educators Stand for Climate Justice and Just Transition conference, organised by Education International Asia-Pacific (EIAP) in Taipei from 21 to 22 April 2026.
Supporting teachers who are at the centre of education in emergencies
Ahead of Education Cannot Wait (ECW) replenishment later this year, Director Maysa Jalbout stressed the need for governments and donors to stop treating teachers in crisis settings as “invisible” and to work with education unions to measure and improve teacher wellbeing, safety, and professional dignity.
Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4
8 April 2026
Elevate, support, and invest in the teaching profession
Anand Singh
We need 44 million more teachers globally by 2030. In Asia-Pacific alone, that figure is more than 16 million. This is not a projection to worry about later — it is an emergency we are living right now.
Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4
10 March 2026
Go Public! Fund Education: Building union power and quality education across the Pacific
The Education International (EI) Go Public! Fund Education
campaign has consolidated itself as a central policy and mobilisation framework for education unions across the Pacific. What began as a strategic regional call to address teacher shortages
has evolved into a coordinated effort linking national union action to global education policy...
Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4
29 August 2025
Historic Santiago Consensus puts teachers at the heart of education transformation
World Summit on Teachers delivers comprehensive framework demanding sustainable investment in teaching profession
Ministers, teacher unions, and education leaders meeting at the World Summit on Teachers in Chile have adopted the Santiago Consensus
, a comprehensive framework that commits governments to address the global shortage of 50 million teachers through concrete policy action.
