World Teachers’ Day – 5 October 2025 “Together for Teachers, Together for Tomorrow”
We, the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot Teachers’ Unions, KTÖS, POED, KTOEÖS, OELMEK, DAÜ-SEN and OLTEK, as members of Education International (EI) and the European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE), come together once again to mark World Teachers’ Day. On this important occasion, we collectively honour the indispensable role of teachers, who, in Cyprus and across the world, dedicate their lives to shaping the future of our societies.
This year, under the global theme “Together for teachers, together for tomorrow,” we join with colleagues worldwide in calling on governments to invest in teachers and education, and to support the creation of a peaceful, fair, and sustainable future for all.
Since the launch of the Go Public! Fund Education campaign and the United Nations Transforming Education Summit in 2022, our movement has achieved growing recognition at international level. The 2024 United Nations Recommendations and this year’s Santiago Consensus represent significant progress. On this World Teachers’ Day, we reaffirm our commitment to continue building upon these achievements together.
We call on governments to provide genuine and consistent support for teachers, recognising that the future of every society depends upon education. Across the globe, resources are too often directed elsewhere while schools face shortages and teachers struggle with limited means. These challenges must be addressed through policies that prioritise education as a public good. When teachers are supported, students and societies thrive.
Today, the global shortage of 50 million teachers places the right to education at serious risk. This challenge cannot be solved by temporary measures or technological alternatives. Education is, at its heart, a human and relational process. Urgent investment in teachers is therefore essential to ensure quality education for all.
Here in Cyprus, the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot teachers’ unions are marking the 10th anniversary of the historic Cooperation Agreement signed in 2015 under the ETUCE. As we celebrate this milestone, we also recognize our shared responsibility to build a better future for our island by promoting mutual respect and understanding. In our schools, we are committed to teaching the values of peace, democracy, and justice so that the children of today may grow into the citizens who will shape a brighter future for all.
KTÖS-POED-KTOEÖS-OELMEK-DAÜ-SEN-OLTEK
