International Jury of UNESCO-Hamdan Prize Begins Proceedings

Paris, France, 22 May 2026: In the presence of His Excellency Dr. Khalifa Al Suwaidi, Secretary-General and Executive Director of Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Medical and Educational Sciences, and His Excellency Qun Chen, Assistant Director-General for Education at UNESCO, the International Jury of the UNESCO-Hamdan Prize for Teacher Development held its concluding meeting for the judging process of the ninth cycle, to select the winners from a total of 129 nominations submitted from 62 countries.

His Excellency Qun Chen welcomed the meeting of the International Jury for the ninth cycle of the UNESCO-Hamdan Prize for Teacher Development, affirming that, since 2008, the Prize has formed part of a highly valued partnership between UNESCO and Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Medical and Educational Sciences in the United Arab Emirates.

His Excellency said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Foundation and its representative, Dr. Khalifa Al Suwaidi, for their continued support and leadership in promoting excellence in education, as well as their commitment to expanding the reach of effective solutions.”

His Excellency added that the Prize highlights the important work carried out by institutions, schools and educational entities around the world through innovative approaches that enhance the quality of education. Since its launch, the 23 winning projects have demonstrated a wide range of innovative educational tools and techniques across different regions and contexts. They all share one objective: empowering teachers and providing them with continuous learning opportunities and support, particularly for the most marginalized groups. By bringing visibility to these distinguished initiatives, the Prize makes a tangible contribution to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 4.

His Excellency Qun Chen noted that the quality of teaching remains one of the most influential factors in student learning. Today, with a global shortage of 44 million teachers, alongside gaps in training and evolving educational requirements, supporting innovation in the teaching profession has become more important than ever.

His Excellency further emphasized the importance of ensuring that teaching standards, competency frameworks and teacher professional development programmes are aligned with the profound transformations taking place across the education sector. In this context, UNESCO this year launched a review of two key international normative instruments: the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers and the 1997 UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher-Education Teaching Personnel.

His Excellency also noted that UNESCO has worked over the past few years to strengthen the visibility of the Prize by promoting practical models and guidance for effective teacher policies. The Prize was highlighted during the 2025 Global Teacher Summit in Chile, which received generous support from Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Medical and Educational Sciences, including the participation of laureates and members of the jury. UNESCO is also currently finalizing a research study on the winning projects with the support of the Foundation.

For his part, His Excellency Dr. Khalifa Al Suwaidi, Secretary-General and Executive Director of Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Medical and Educational Sciences, praised the partnership with UNESCO and the support provided by its officials to joint projects and programmes aimed at improving education across different regions of the world.

His Excellency affirmed that the UNESCO-Hamdan Prize for Teacher Development has achieved a distinguished position thanks to this support and has become one of the enabling tools for advancing teacher performance. His Excellency added that the record number of submissions and their broad international reach reflect the growing interest in the Prize and its impact in supporting teachers, who remain a central pillar in the quality of education.