The three laureates selected by an international jury are "Apprendre en paix, Enseigner sans violence" from Graines de Paix in Benin, "TAMAM Project for School-Based Educational Reform" from the American University of Beirut, and "Training Teachers to Transform Haiti" from PH4 Global. An endowment of US $300,000 will be divided between the winners to help further their work in advancing innovative practices in the teaching profession.
The Prize-giving ceremony will be held at UNESCO headquarters, on October 5 at 11:30AM (Paris time), on the occasion of World Teachers' Day. It will be followed by a panel discussion with this year's Laureates, which will focus on the need for bold action to be taken by decision-makers, for all stakeholders to support teachers everywhere, and for recognition of the critical role of teachers in shaping the future of education.
Graines de Paix, Benin
The programme "Apprendre en paix, Enseigner sans violence" (Learning in Peace, Education without Violence) provides educational solutions focused on how to prevent all forms of violence, prevent radicalisation, and foster wellbeing, a culture of peace, security, equity, and inclusion. Teachers learn how to move on from violent punitive authoritarian postures to positive postures that empower all students. The project is based on the pedagogical approaches tested in Switzerland, France, and Côte d'Ivoire, but is anchored in Benin's local context. Over 4,500 teachers have been trained, 2,500 parents have been sensitized and more than 250,000 children were reached through the project.
P4H Global, Haiti
"Training Teachers to Transform Haiti" is an innovative programme dedicated to improving the quality of education in Haiti through the training not only of teachers but also of school directors, parents, and community members. The project is based on a cycle including diagnosis of schools, training, distance coaching, and classroom observation. It aims to transform teachers' methods into effective student-centred strategies that cultivate critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity inside the classroom. This is reinforced by sharing lessons and personalized feedback through social media and messaging apps which enjoy the participation of a community of more than 11,000 teachers across the country. Since 2011, the 3-year intensive programme has benefited 8,000 educators and 350,000 students in all ten departments in Haiti. 70% of the training courses are provided to schools in rural settings due to the lack of support and resources in those areas.
TAMAM Project, Lebanon
The "TAMAM Project for School-Based Educational Reform" is a research-based programme where university researchers work closely with educational practitioners to generate strategies that are grounded in the sociocultural contexts of the Arab region. Teachers are offered platforms to network, learn and innovate with educators from other schools. TAMAM covers 70 schools in 9 countries across the region: Lebanon, Jordan, Oman, Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Palestine, and Kuwait. Over the past 15 years, 100 improvement projects have been initiated at the local level thanks to TAMAM. The project has benefited 1,000 educational practitioners as direct beneficiaries.
The Prize
The Prize was created in 2008 to support the improvement of teaching and learning quality in achieving the Sustainable Development Goal of quality education for all by 2030 (SDG4). Awarded every two years, it is supported by the Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Distinguished Academic Performance.
