One Month Left to Submit Applications for World's First

ONE MILLION DOLLAR TEACHER PRIZE

- UAE juror Tariq Al Gurg calls for more Middle East nominations for the global prize created to improve the status of teachers, celebrate the teaching profession, and encourage the best and brightest pupils to become future educators

Dubai, UAE 8 September 2014: A final call for GCC teachers to enter the one million dollar Varkey GEMS Foundation Global Teacher Prize was issued today. The award will be given to an exceptional teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to the profession. This will be the inaugural award of the prize which was officially launched in October 2013 under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

The final closing date for nominations and application is 5th October 2014 while the winner will be announced at the Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai during March 2015.

Academy Award winning actor Kevin Spacey, who sits on the Global Teacher Prize Academy that chooses the final winner, said: 'When I was starting out, I was inspired by an older, more experienced actor, who told me that he thought I ought to go into acting professionally. That's the kind of mentoring and personal support that every young person needs to realise their potential.

“It's the kind of encouragement and guidance that good teachers give to their pupils every day.  And that is why I support the Varkey GEMS Foundation's Global Teacher Prize. However much we achieve in life, we all began learning the basics from a teacher in a classroom.  Those that teach - devoting their talents and time to nurturing the talents of others - deserve to be respected and celebrated.”

Commenting on the significance of the Prize, Tariq Al Gurg, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Cares and member of the judging panel said: “This award recognises the most able, committed and inspiring members of the teaching profession around the world. It also celebrates the teaching profession and crucially, raises the status of those who dedicate their lives to sharing knowledge and skills with our young people and communities.”

“All of us who have been fortunate enough to receive an education know just how valuable a good teacher is. Over the course of their career, teachers impact the lives of thousands of children and young people, shaping their futures, their ideals and their approach to learning. With this year's inaugural prize, I would be delighted to see a significant number of entries from the Middle East region. I therefore urge teachers, parents, students and members of the public to nominate those teachers across the region who are role models in their schools and communities and who deserve to be recognised and rewarded for their work and dedication.”

President Bill Clinton, Honorary Chairman of the Varkey GEMS Foundation, said:  “Attracting the best people to teaching, developing and supporting their skills, and holding our teachers in high regard — all are critically important to achieve excellence, both in teaching and learning.”

The Varkey GEMS Foundation Global Teacher Prize – the teaching equivalent of the ‘Nobel Prize' - is the largest prize of its kind with a one million dollar award. It is open to teachers worldwide who are currently working in compulsory schooling, or teach children between the ages of five and eighteen. Head-teachers and principals with teaching responsibilities are also eligible to apply.  The prize is open to teachers in every kind of school and, subject to local laws, in every country in the world. 

Members of the public can nominate a teacher, or teachers can apply themselves by filling an application form at globalteacherprize.org. If teachers are being nominated, the person nominating them has to write a brief description online explaining why.  The teacher being nominated will then be sent an email letting them know they've been nominated and inviting them to apply for the prize. Applicants can apply in Arabic, English, Mandarin, French, Spanish and Russian here: http://www.globalteacherprize.org/#apply

To join the conversation online follow #TeacherPrize on: https://twitter.com/TeacherPrize
 and https://www.facebook.com/teacherprize

Initial applications will be judged by a prize committee, who will meet this November to choose a shortlist of ten candidates. The prize committee will include Sunny Varkey, Founder, Varkey GEMS Foundation; Vikas Pota, Chairman of the Varkey GEMS Foundation; Sir Michael Tomlinson, former Chief Inspector of Schools in England; Ann Mroz, Editor, Times Education Supplement; and Karen Giles, Headteacher, Barham Primary School, London, UK.
 
A winner will be chosen from the ten finalists in December 2014 by the Global Teacher Prize Academy made up of head-teachers, educational experts, commentators, journalists, public officials, tech entrepreneurs, company directors and scientists from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, the UK, the US, Indonesia, China, Vietnam, Myanmar, Austria, Pakistan, Philippines, Netherlands, Thailand, Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, Japan, Uganda, Singapore, Brazil, India and Turkey.
 
Teachers who are applying will have to provide references from their current supervisor and up to two additional references.  These can include video testimonials about their work in the classroom and beyond, and can come from pupils, colleagues, head-teachers as well as members of the wider community.
 
The winner will be paid the prize money in equal instalments over ten years, and the Varkey GEMS Foundation will provide the winner with financial counselling. Without compromising their work in the classroom, the winner will be asked to serve as a global ambassador for the Varkey GEMS Foundation, attending public events and speaking in public forums about improving the prestige of the teaching profession. A condition of winning the prize is that the winner remains as a classroom teacher for at least five years.
 
The Global Teacher Prize follows a long-standing commitment to improve the status of and celebrate teachers by the Varkey GEMS Foundation (VGF), so that children will dream of becoming the best teacher in the world.