World Summit on Teachers
The UNESCO World Summit on Teachers will address the global challenge of teacher shortages and advocate for sustained support for teachers, and to valorize the profession in a challenging economic and socio-political context. Led by UNESCO, hosted by the Government of Chile, it is organized in conjunction with the SDG4 Education 2030 High-Level Steering Committee‘s Leaders Meeting.
This joint initiative comes at a pivotal moment as the international community advances the recommendations of the United Nations Secretary-General High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession and the UNESCO & Teacher Task Force 2024 Global Report on Teachers is reinforcing the urgent need for coordinated action to address teacher challenges worldwide.
The World Summit on Teachers will take place in Santiago, Chile, on 28 and 29 August 2025, preceded by an optional day of cultural events on 27 August.
Thematic sessions C: Group C.2: From crisis to peace: Teachers as agents of change
Friday 29 August 2025
Room: Raúl Prebisch
Following the 2023 UNESCO Recommendation on Education for Peace, Human Rights and Sustainable Development, peace is recognized not as a static state, but as an ongoing process. In this context, teachers play a vital role as agents of change, especially in crisis-affected and post-conflict settings—where education systems are under strain and communities are rebuilding their social fabric. This session will explore how teacher agency can foster inclusive, gender-sensitive, and empowering learning environments even amid displacement, trauma, digital harms, and financing insecurities. It will highlight the critical importance of supporting teacher development, psychosocial well-being, agency, leadership, and meaningful participation in decision-making to strengthen their capacity to contribute to peacebuilding—both in the classroom and at the policy level. Improving teachers’ working conditions, including safety, fair compensation, and professional support, is essential to enable their long-term commitment and effectiveness, particularly in fragile and conflict-affected settings. Special attention will be given to the systemic investments needed from governments and donors to empower teachers as frontline actors in building sustainable, peaceful, and just societies.
Moderator:
- Ms Min-Jeong Kim, Director, Division for Education 2030, UNESCO
Speakers:
- Mr Hyppolite Bassole, Director of Cabinet, Ministry of Secondary, Technical and Vocational Education, Burkina Faso
- Ms Moira Faul, Executive Director, Network for International policies and cooperation in training and education (NORRAG)
- Mr Matjaž Gruden, Director for Democracy, Council of Europe fMs Manal Hdaife, Public Primary Schools Teachers League in Lebanon (PPSTLL), Lebanon
- Ms Faiza Hassan, Director, Interagency Network on Education in Emergencies (INEE)
- Ms Heike Kuhn, Head, Education Division, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany; Co-Chair, Teacher Task Force; CoChair, Education Cannot Wait’s Executive Committee
- Mr Ruben Quintanilla, Director, Teacher Training and Education Counseling, Ministry of Education, El Salvador