On October 5, 2016 World Teachers’ Day was celebrated in UNESCO Headquarters. This year the date coincided with the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the recommendations “on the status of teachers” by the International Labour Organization and UNESCO – the 1st international document on the working conditions of the representatives of this profession. The motto of the celebration was “Improving the status of a teacher as recognition of value of the profession”.
MSPU rector A.L. Semenov officially represented Russia at this meeting. The delegation also included K.E. Ziskin, the director of the Institute “Higher School of Education”, E.I. Bulin-Sokolova, the head of educational programmes of the Institute of Childhood, the head of the department of Informational technologies in education, and K.S. Salnikova, the coordinator of international projects.
Welcome speeches were made by Irina Bokova, the Director general of UNESCO, Kiana Tanga, the deputy director general of UNESCO for Education, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, the Minister of Education and Science of France, Marc Tucker, the President of National Center on Education and the Economics of USA (NCEE).
Special attention is paid to UNESCO cooperation among BRICS countries on development and support of teachers. The special panel discussion was organized, where experts from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa exchanged ideas on this subject. Academician A.L. Semenov, representing Russia, said about the importance of continuing professional education of teachers, noting that the basic skill the teacher must acquire at all stages of his preparation is the ability to learn.
After the panel discussion a consultative meeting of the BRICS countries’ experts was held where perspective directions of the organization of exchange of experience and networking cooperation in the near future was discussed.
Despite the solemnity of the date and high level of the delegates, the organizers of the World UNESCO Teachers’ Day tried to make the celebration not too officious, to create informal atmosphere of creative collaboration.
