From August 27 to 29 local time, the World Teachers' Summit, co-hosted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Chilean government, took place in Santiago, Chile. The summit aimed to address the global challenge of teacher shortages and advocate for sustained support for teachers' professional development amid complex economic, social, and political contexts. Attendees included Gabriel Boric, President of the Republic of Chile; Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO; and Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, among others. Huai Jinpeng, Minister of Education of China, was invited to attend the summit and the High-Level Steering Committee Meeting on Education 2030. As the only invited senior representative of member states, he delivered a speech at the opening ceremony and addressed the plenary session themed Towards Transformative Teacher Education and Professional Development.
Professor Hu Guoyong, Deputy Director of the Teacher Education Centre under the auspices of UNESCO (UNESCO TEC); Professor Yang Fan, Deputy Director of the Academic Affairs Office at Shanghai Normal University (SHNU); Associate Professor Yan Wenle, Deputy Director of the International Centre for Teacher Education at SHNU; and Dr. Song Qingqing from the Research Institute for International and Comparative Education (RIICE), Shanghai Normal University attended the summit as representatives of Chinese teacher education institutions.
On August 28, Associate Professor Yan Wenle spoke at the parallel session Strengthening Cooperation to Address Educational Challenges in Africa, which focused on critical issues such as teacher shortages and support for professional development in African regions. With the theme Math as the Gateway: Sustaining Partnerships to Solve Teacher Issues in Africa, Associate Professor Yan shared the core concepts and key practices of UNESCO TEC in promoting teacher development in Africa over the past decade. She highlighted three priority areas for advancing teacher development reforms in Africa: localization of teaching resources, establishment of long-term mechanisms for teacher professional development, and promotion of inclusive development for diverse teacher groups.
On August 29, Professor Yang Fan addressed the parallel session Technology-Enabled Lifelong Learning for Teachers, which explored teacher education models capable of fostering curiosity, collaborative skills, and innovative approaches. Centering on the theme China's Teacher Lifelong Learning Policies and Shanghai Normal University's Endeavor, Professor Yang introduced several policies and programs driving teachers' continuous learning in China, including the Basic Education Teacher Enhancement Program, the National Strategy for Educational Digitalization, and the Silver-Haired Teachers Program. He elaborated on SHNU's role as a hub connecting pre-service and in-service teacher development, as well as local and global resources, and its efforts to help student teachers acquire student-centered teaching paradigms through AI platforms such as MetaClass and Zhongke Zhineng. In response to the demands of the digital era, Professor Yang emphasized that teachers need to master AI and interdisciplinary skills to enhance their metacognitive abilities and better support students from diverse backgrounds. Regarding inclusivity, he stressed the need for cross-sector collaboration to safeguard the rights of rural female teachers, support teaching by educators in ethnic minority areas, and equip teachers in resource-poor schools with digital tools.
During the summit, over a dozen high-level dialogues on teacher policies, funding, innovation, and inclusivity forged new consensus for global teacher professional development and improved education quality. As the only in-person representatives of Chinese teacher education institutions, the UNESCO TEC team showcased China's proactive explorations and practical achievements in education through their speeches and post-session discussions. On the sidelines of the summit, Minister Huai Jinpeng had a cordial conversation with the TEC team, spoke highly of their efforts in international exchanges and cooperation in teacher education, and encouraged the Centre to engage more deeply in such initiatives to disseminate China's experience and tell China's story well.
It is reported that the summit was attended by 400 participants, including education ministers and vice-ministers from 16 countries, heads of relevant international organizations, and teacher representatives.
(Source: Teacher Education Centre under the auspices of UNESCO)
