The Deputy Minister of Basic Education, Enver Surty will address the World Teachers Day celebrations to be held from 4 - 5 October 2013 in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). The 2013 World Teachers Day celebrations will be held in collaboration with other stakeholders in education, the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC), South African Council for Educators (SACE) and KZN Department of Education (KZNDoE). The theme for 2013 World Teachers’ Day is: "A Call for Teachers".
This year’s celebration will be a societal engagement that calls on all teachers, as well as prospective teachers, to join in the celebrations. Provinces and schools are also encouraged to host events at the local level.
World Teachers Day is celebrated in many countries to make teachers feel valued. UNESCO inaugurated World Teachers’ Day in 1994 to focus attention on the contributions and achievements of teachers, and to highlight teachers’ concerns and priorities regarding education. October 5 was selected as the date to internationally celebrate teachers because on that date in 1966 a special intergovernmental conference adopted the UNESCO recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers.
As part of a build-up to the World Teachers’ Day celebrations, an Educational Roundtable seminar involving experienced speakers, teacher organisations and classroom based teachers will be held on the 4th of October 2013. The theme for the seminar is “to reignite the integrity of the teaching profession”. The seminar is aimed at celebrating the contribution of teachers in a democratic context and to strengthen the professionalization of teachers.
Some of the prominent speakers at this year’s event will include the the Department of Basic Education, the South African Council for Educators (SACE), a guest speaker, and the Vice President of Education International Mrs Irene Duncan Adanusa who has been invited to deliver the keynote address on 5 October 2013.
Members of the Media are invited to join the celebrations as follows:
Day 1: Educational Roundtable seminar
Date: Friday, 4 October 2013
Venue: KZN Teacher Development Institute, 321 ZK Mathews Street, Glenwood, Durban
Time: 09h00
Day 2: World Teacher Day Celebrations
Date: Saturday, 5 October 2013
Venue: University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville Campus, University Road, Westville
Time: 10h00 – 16h00
RSVPs:
Ryan Hoffman
E-mail: hoffman.r@dbe.gov.za
Cell: 072 629 4506
