World Teachers' Day

World Teachers’ Day is held annually on 5 October to celebrate all teachers around the globe. It commemorates the anniversary of the adoption of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers, which sets benchmarks regarding the rights and responsibilities of teachers, and standards for their initial preparation and further education, recruitment, employment, and teaching and learning conditions. The Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher-Education Teaching Personnel was adopted in 1997 to complement the 1966 Recommendation by covering teaching personnel in higher education. World Teachers’ Day has been celebrated since 1994.

It is a day to celebrate how teachers are transforming education but also to reflect on the support they need to fully deploy their talent and vocation, and to rethink the way ahead for the profession globally

World Teachers’ Day is co-convened in partnership with the International Labour Organization (ILO), UNICEF and Education International (EI).

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"Today, on World Teachers’ Day, we celebrate the critical role of teachers in transforming learners’ potential by ensuring they have the tools they need to take responsibility for themselves, for others and for the planet. We call on countries to ensure that teachers are trusted and recognized as knowledge producers, reflective practitioners, and policy partners."

Joint Message from Ms Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, Mr Gilbert F. Houngbo, Director-General, International Labour Organization, Ms Catherine Russell, Executive Director, UNICEF, Mr David Edwards, General Secretary, Education International for World Teachers’ Day, 5 October 2022

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2022 celebrations

The theme for World Teachers' Day 2022 is “The transformation of education begins with teachers”. Celebrations will address the commitments and calls for action made at the Transforming Education Summit, in September 2022, and analyse the implications they have for teachers and teaching.

The three-day celebration at UNESCO Headquarters will include the awarding ceremony of the UNESCO-Hamdan Prize for Teacher Development, and a series of events showcasing how guaranteeing teachers' decent working conditions, access to professional development opportunities and a recognized professional status is a first step towards more resilient education systems. UNESCO is working to leverage the vital role of these primary change-agents.

A calendar of events and the communications materials will be published online and updated here regularly.