World Teachers' Day 2010

Recovery Begins With Teachers!

BRUSSELS, October 4, 2010 - On 5 October, millions of teachers and education workers will be joined
by children, young people and parents across the globe to celebrate World
Teachers' Day. They will pay tribute to the teaching profession and its
unique role in promoting recovery from crises.

From the global economic crisis which destabilised many developed
economies in the last year, to humanitarian disasters, such as the earthquake
in Haiti and floods in Pakistan, the role of teachers has been vital to the
social, economic and intellectual rebuilding of communities in which we all
live and work.

As the global union representing 30 million education workers around the
world, Education International (EI) is proud to acknowledge the profound
contribution of all teachers from pre-school to university.

EI General Secretary, Fred van Leeuwen, said: "Being a teacher means
belonging to the most valuable profession. Wherever communities face
hardship, teachers are immediately present on the frontline to help promote
recovery. Sadly, in many countries, being a teacher also means being paid an
unfair wage, being treated unfairly or harassed, and in some cases, living in
danger of losing your life.

"Despite these challenges, teachers continue giving to society by
teaching and improving the life chances of millions of learners. As UNESCO
confirms: 'Without teachers input to shape education reforms, recovery
processes are not likely to achieve all their goals.'

"At a time when the world faces an unprecedented shortage of qualified
teachers, when 10 million more teachers must be recruited and trained to
achieve internationally agreed goals of quality education for every child,
marking World Teachers' Day is a small step to pay homage to millions of
extraordinary heroes in our global community."

EI has co-signed an official statement with the ILO, UNDP, UNESCO and
UNICEF, and will join an official event in Paris, on 5 October, with teachers
from Haiti, Lesotho, Mali, Laos, France and Israel to give evidence about the
role of teachers in recovery of their society.

Since 1994, when World Teachers' Day began, EI members have organised
activities for teachers. In Uganda, the government has also declared 5
October a public holiday. You can send an e-greeting card or tweet a message
with the tag #wtd2010 to your favourite teacher, or download this year's
poster at the website: www.5oct.org

Media contact: Pav Akhtar, email: pav at ei-ie.org phone: +32(0)2473950275