Albanian teachers’ voice among “Learning heroes” of UNESCO global education conference

25 January 2021- On International Day of Education 2021, UNESCO New York Office, UNHQ, the Global Partnership for Education and the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies (CRI), as well as partners from the Global Education Coalition organized the event “Recover and Revitalize Education for the COVID-19 Generation”.

Albania was represented in this important event by Albanian Coalition for Education winner of the 1-st national teacher Prize, Mrs. Dhurata Myrtollari. One year into the COVID-19 pandemic, over 800 million students, more than half the world’s student population, still face significant disruptions to their education, ranging from full school closures in 31 countries to reduced or part-time academic schedules in another 48 countries, according to new UNESCO data.

The International Day of Education has been celebrated in an exceptional situation. During her opening speech UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay urged that the entire global community, states must make education a priority in recovery plans

The learning crisis was echoed and highlighted by the United Nations Secretary General António Guterres who sent a video message for the conference. “When education is interrupted, it affects everyone, and especially students, teachers and families,” 

Stressing the urgency to address social and economic inequalities, H.E.Volkan Bozkir, President of the 75th UN General Assembly outlined recovery priorities for education.

“Let me be clear: SDG 4 is not just about a classroom – it is about Society,” he stated. “Education has the power to break the cycle of poverty and conflict. Education can also build media and information literacy, producing global citizens who are better able to engage critically in the world.”

“Learning heroes” from around the world shared their experiences on how they have been able to ensure the continuity of education under difficult circumstances during COVID-19 school closures. Dhurata Myrtollari, the representative of Albanian Coalition for Education and winner of the National Teacher Prize during her intervention stressed that: “Teachers must be trained and equipped with digital skills to best respond to students’ needs everywhere.”

The pandemic has amplified social, economic, and digital inequalities. The need for adequately financed recovery packages for education was underlined by many of the participants of this segment of the conference. “Governments must commit to making significance investment in education,” said Alice Albright, CEO of the Global Partnership for Education.

Jaime Saavedra, Director of Global Education at the World Bank said in a video message: “We need to use the window of opportunity that this pandemic opens not only to build back but to build forward and more effective, equitable and resilient education.”

For more information you can contact

Linda Pino, National Coordinator of Albanian Coalition for Education at acce@acce.al and/or https://en.unesco.org/news/learning-heroes-innovations-and-financing-forefront-international-day-education-2021