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.
Education International stands in solidarity following devastating floods and landslides in Nepal, Tibet, and India
Education International (EI) expresses its deepest sympathy and unwavering solidarity following the devastating floods and landslides in Nepal, Tibet, and India that have affected communities across the region.
Eswatini: Union campaign strengthens social dialogue while exposing chronic underinvestment in education
The Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) Secretary General Lot Vilakati acknowledged that years of campaigning for increased public investment in education are beginning to yield results, with education financing now receiving greater attention from government officials and policymakers. However, the union warns that severe funding gaps, widespread precarious employment...
Fighting the commercialisation of education
27 August 2026
Fiji: Educators demand better pay and working conditions to halt overseas brain drain
Hundreds of teachers, retired educators, and Fijian Teachers Association (FTA) members marched to voice growing concerns over low salaries, worsening working conditions, and the continued loss of experienced teachers to overseas employment opportunities.
Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4
25 August 2026
Togo: Research and trade union voices at the centre of the Go Public! Fund Education campaign launch
It is essential that trade union advocacy and the fight for public education be supported by facts, analysis, and clear demands. The importance of this approach was reaffirmed by the National Federation of Education Trade Unions (FESEN) at the launch of Education International’s Go Public: Fund Education
campaign in Togo....
Caribbean Union of Teachers and Education International bring young educators together to build leadership skills and regional solidarity
For four days in Saint Lucia, young teacher trade unionists from across the Caribbean shared ideas, debated challenges, built new connections, and reflected on the future of their unions.
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.
