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.
Standards and working conditions
29 September 2025
Education voices | Collective union action in defence of collegial governance
Sinéad Kennedy
This testimony was collected as part of the research project entitled “In the eye of the storm: Higher education in an age of crises” conducted by Howard Stevenson, Maria Antonietta Vega Castillo, Melanie Bhend, and Vasiliki-Eleni Selechopoulou for Education International. The research report and executive summary are available here
.
Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4
29 September 2025
Ukraine: Education International supports draft State Budget for 2026 that delivers significant boost for education funding
The draft budget proposed by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine provides for a substantial and sorely needed increase in funding for education in 2026. As Ukraine’s Parliament must adopt the budget, Education International (EI) and the European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE) expressed strong support for the proposal...
South-Asian education unions push for improved health, well-being, and gender equality curricula
Over 160 participants including representatives of teacher unions, governments, civil society, youth, UN agencies, and academics from South Asia and Southeast Asia gathered to share lessons, explore innovative programs, and interventions to discuss how education systems can support teachers to deliver gender-responsive, socially responsible, and stigma-free curricula, including Comprehensive Sexuality...
Educators from China, Japan, and Korea unite for peace education
Promoting peace education and sharing positive teaching and learning examples to build a brighter future for East Asia. That was the key aim of the 12th Peace Education Assembly gathering education unions from China, Japan, and Korea.
Human-centred AI: EI's global conference charts the future of education
While tech companies race to embed Artificial Intelligence (AI) in schools and campuses worldwide, the voices of educators have been largely sidelined. Education International's conference, Shaping Our Future: Education Unions Leading for a Human-Centred AI, puts educators back at the centre. The 4-5 December Brussels conference will bring together union...
Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4
29 August 2025
Historic Santiago Consensus puts teachers at 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.