World Teachers' Day 2018

On Friday, 5 October 2018, we will celebrate World Teachers' Day, an initiative launched in 1994 to commemorate the anniversary of the adoption of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation on the Status of Teachers. 

Date 2018-10-04 Author BIK Team
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This recommendation 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." World Teachers' Day is organised by UNESCO in partnership with UNICEF, the International Labour Organisation (ILO), and Education International.

The theme for this year's edition of World Teachers' Day is: "The right to education means the right to a qualified teacher", as a means to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) that recognises education as a key fundamental right and establishes an entitlement to free compulsory education.

Being a qualified teacher can mean a lot of things. At Better Internet for Kids (BIK), we stress that teachers must be equipped with the knowledge and skills required to prepare the younger generations for the ongoing digital revolution. With many reports indicating that 50 per cent of occupations will no longer exist in 2025, it is fundamental that teachers be able to meet the challenge of new technologies. This requires training teachers accordingly, and providing them with the educational resources to create ambitious and effective digital literacy courses. The Better Internet for Kids (BIK) strategy and the Insafe network of Safer Internet Centres (SICs) continue to work towards this end, with initiatives such as:

  • The "Get Cyber Skilled" learning event, aiming to promote cybersecurity and cyberhygiene education among European teachers.
  • The Teacher Academy, a platform supporting educators in their daily classroom work and encouraging them to play a key role in addressing some societal challenges linked to technological, social and economic changes.

Additionally, the BIK website offers a plethora of educational resources to help teachers promote online safety, positive online behaviour, cyberhygiene and media literacy.

To learn more about World Teachers' Day, visit the dedicated UNESCO webpage as well as the UNESCO website.

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