Words by Smiley Team
Educators around the world play a vital role in uplifting young people, stimulating young imaginations and empowering the next generation to create a better world. Today, on 5 October, it’s World Teachers’ Day, when educators everywhere are heralded for the important work they do.
In a joint statement, UNESCO members said: "On World Teachers’ Day, we are not only celebrating every teacher. We are calling on countries to invest in them and prioritize them in global education recovery efforts so that every learner has access to a qualified and supported teacher. Let’s stand with our teachers!"
[Read more about projects around the world helping uplift communities through quality education]
To give back to the teachers dedicating their lives to the betterment of young people, here are five top initiatives you can support.
Working around the world, Teach2Stand trains unemployed youths to become teachers of excellence. Their work has profound impacts on communities, improving literacy and numeracy rates by 19% in just 5 months.
In just 12 years, United World Schools has trained over 1,200 teachers and reached tens of thousands of children in some of the world’s most deprived countries, including Cambodia, Nepal, Myanmar and Madagascar.
An ambitious project launched by a design engineer, Global Teacher aims to connect rural and isolated communities with digital education tools. With the help of innovative tech solutions, such as a solar-powered projector, the charity aims to reach one million marginalised students by 2025.
Education Support is the UK’s sole charity dedicated to supporting teachers’ mental health and wellbeing. They work across schools, colleges and universities to offer free advice covering all kinds of mental health issues teachers are likely to face.
For over 15 years Teach First has been building diversity among teachers, offering free training programmes to get inspiring educators into schools. As a result of their programmes, 12,000 teachers have gained work in low-income areas across England and Wales.
