Inclusive and quality education for all has been recognized as one of most important goal for sustainable development. Teacher and teacher education have become key factors for building such education for all. With the newly launch Global Report on Teachers, we were pleased to invite Mr. Robert Parua (Programme Specialist for Education, UNESCO Beijing) to introduce UNESCO’s initiatives for teacher education and talk about the new report to 40 students of Asia Education Leader Course from four universities in Asia-Pacific region on May 24, 2024.

In the open lecture, Mr. Parua introduced UNESCO Teacher Education Programs in the paradigm shift of the global development strategies. Then, he talked about the new report on teachers in details which include teacher shortages, strategies to address teacher shortages, transformation of teaching profession, monitoring teacher shortages, expenditure for teachers, and international cooperation for solving global teacher shortages.

In the 2^nd session, participants were divided into six groups to discuss the question “What qualities do you think are essential for a teacher?” They shared their opinions and experiences of teacher and teacher education in different social contexts. In the end of the session, each group made short presentations on the key qualifications which are needed for a teacher.

This session provided us a good opportunity to deepen our standing of teacher education and the challenges. It also enabled our students who are major in education to reconsider their roles in building inclusive and quality education for all.