The UNESCO Teacher Task Force 14th Policy Dialogue

“Just as teachers support us all, it’s time to support teachers.” Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General

After decades of neglect, the key role of teachers in education systems worldwide is now being recognised and valorised. On February 26-28, NORRAG participated in the 14th Policy Dialogue organised by the UNESCO Teacher Task Force (TTF) and hosted by South Africa and Germany. The TTF Global report on teachers was launched, as were the Recommendations and summary of the deliberations of the joint ILO-UNESCO High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession.

We contributed to the panel on finding and supporting teachers in emergency and crisis contexts, highlighting our Policy Insights on Refugee Teachers: The Heart of the Global Refugee Response. The audience heard from Heike Khun, German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and TTF and ECW co-Chair, Mohamud Hure, UNHCR, Farida Aboudan, UNESCO Doha, Tassama Saleh, Teacher and teachers’ trainer and Chris Henderson, NORRAG and the Geneva Global Hub for Education in Emergencies (left to right in the image) before Moira V. Faul, NORRAG, the moderator, encouraged them to share their insights and wisdom on this topic.

Our work in this area was recognised in a request for interview from DevEx:

“So many of the teacher mental health and wellbeing challenges that we see in crisis-affected contexts stem from inadequate salaries and the often impossible decisions that teachers have to make to support themselves and their families while also providing many of the ‘unpaid expanded roles’ that emergencies require teachers to fulfill”

• Moderator: Ms Moira Faul, Executive Director, Network for International Policies and Cooperation in Education and Training (NORRAG)
• Speakers (left to right in the photo):
  • Ms. Heike Khun Head of the Education Division at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), TTF Co-Chair, ECW Executive Committee Co-Chair, Germany
  • Mr Mohamud Hure, Education Officer, UNHCR
  • Ms Farida Aboudan, Programme Specialist, UNESCO Doha and CAAFAG Teacher guide
  • Ms Tassama Saleh, Teacher and teachers’ trainer, Member of CRDP and TTF Lebanon focal point
  • Mr Chris Henderson, Education in Emergencies Specialist, NORRAG and the Geneva Global Hub for Education in Emergencies