In shaping the future, and in the transformation of education, teachers and educators play a central role. As seen during the pandemic, most teachers had to re-organize and adapt teaching and learning processes, but also provided socioemotional and psychological support to students and their families. In 2022, World Teachers Day highlights the support teachers need to deploy their talent and vocation, and to rethink the way ahead for the profession. UNESCO celebrates teachers through a three-day event that will include the awarding ceremony of the UNESCO-Hamdan Prize for Teacher Development.

Steven Kolber shares his knowledge with teachers around the world to help transform classrooms into interactive, inclusive learning environments.

The Transforming Education Summit is being convened on 16, 17 and 19 September at the United Nations in New York, in response to a global crisis in education – one of equity and inclusion, quality and relevance. Often slow and unseen, this crisis is having a devastating impact on the futures of children and youth worldwide. The Summit provides a unique opportunity to elevate education to the top of the global political agenda and to mobilize action, ambition, solidarity and solutions to recover pandemic-related learning losses and sow the seeds to transform education in a rapidly changing world.

Armed conflict constitutes one of the most devastating barriers to education. Schools and universities are attacked to spread fear and indoctrinate new recruits. During such chaos, children, students and teachers are denied their right to access quality education.  The Safe Schools Declaration is a political commitment to better protect students, teachers, schools and universities from attack, to support the continuation of education during war, and to put in place concrete measures to deter the military use of schools. Visit UNICEF to view the 111 States that have endorsed the Declaration.

In the aftermath of the pandemic, nearly 24 million learners might never return to formal education, out of which, 11 million are projected to be girls and young women. We need to enrich and transform the existing learning spaces through an integrated approach and enable literacy learning as lifelong learning. This year’s International Literacy Day is an opportunity to rethink the importance of literacy learning spaces. How to build resilience and ensure quality, equitable, and inclusive education for all, will be discussed at the two-day hybrid event on 8- 9 September 2022.

Find out with first-hand insights how Giga is transforming education at the local school G.S. Nyagihunika. Watch how Internet-connected laptops help local educators teach students and make the classroom experience more rewarding and how the benefits of school connectivity also extend to the residents of the Bugesera district.

World Youth Skills Day 2022 (15 July) takes place amid efforts towards a socio-economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, interconnected with challenges such as climate change, conflict, persisting poverty, rising inequality, rapid technological change, demographic transition and others.  This year’s observation highlights the ongoing focus on the Transforming Education Summit and contribute to the work being done under its Thematic Action Track “Learning and skills for life, work, and sustainable development”. Register to participate the global event!

The best defence against conspiracy theories is knowledge. Teachers can play a central role in building the resilience, knowledge and analytical skills needed to spot and debunk conspiracy theory narratives.

Recognizing that education is a human right and a foundation for peace, tolerance, and sustainable development, the UN Secretary-General announced in his report ‘Our Common Agenda’ his intention to convene a Transforming Education Summit (TES) in September 2022. In preparation, UNESCO is hosting a Pre‐Summit on 28 to 30 June at its Headquarters in Paris. The Pre-Summit will harness the evolving discussions on transforming education, elaborate initial content and establish a shared vision to generate greater momentum in the lead up to September. View the programme for more information.

In cotton-growing communities of Pakistan, many children were working in the fields because they were deprived of accessible schools. Therefore, the CLEAR Cotton project partnered with the local government and civil society to set up education centres at their doorsteps. The CLEAR Cotton project is co-funded and implemented by the ILO and partners.

"Children belong in school, not at work. When I was working I didn't like it because it made me tired. And even though school is sometimes a bit difficult, I will learn and one day I will earn a living from it."

An annual UNESCO gender report, analysing data from 120 countries in primary and secondary education, shows that in the early years, boys perform better than girls in mathematics but, this gender gap disappears later. This research confirms that the gender gap in learning has closed even in the poorest countries. And in some countries, the gap is now reversed. However, biases and stereotypes are still likely to affect learning outcomes. Boys are still far more likely to be overrepresented among the highest performers in mathematics in all countries.

ITU Podcasts with Luke Cavanaugh and Prince Zain El-Hashemite.
In the light of the worldwide changes initiated by the pandemic, this second episode discusses the potential future developments of our educational systems, through the eyes of the youth, with Luke Cavanaugh of the Generation Connect Visionaries Board, and Prince Zain, founder of the Y4X Movement, sharing their personal academic experiences that help shape their vision of a future of education with youth and for youth.
Hosted by Arissandra Egorova

Through reading we can open ourselves to others despite distance, and we can travel thanks to the imagination. The pandemic has also reminded us all of the importance of books and reading for comfort and escapism. UNESCO encourages you to challenge yourself, to explore new topics, formats, or genres that out of your ordinary. Our goal is to engage people in reading, and to have fun doing so! For this World Book and Copyright Day (23 April), UNESCO has created a #bookface challenge. Take a picture of yourself with a book cover so it blends into your reality.

After one month of war, more than 733 educational institutions were damaged or destroyed. UNESCO is in permanent contact with the local authorities to protect and restore education in the country.