3 Teacher Programs Win UNESCO Prize, Reach 100K+ Educators

Three teacher development programs that have reached over 100,000 educators just won international recognition for changing how teaching happens in their countries.

The UNESCO-Hamdan Prize announced its 2026 winners during World Teachers' Day in Paris on October 5th. Programs from Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Turkey each received $100,000 to continue their work strengthening education from the inside out.

In Ethiopia, Gondar College of Teachers' Education solved a simple but crucial problem: early childhood classrooms lacked affordable learning materials in local languages. Their "Maker-Teachers" program brings teacher educators, future teachers, and local artisans together to create Montessori-style learning kits from locally sourced materials.

The kits support reading, math, and sensory development in Amharic, aligned with Ethiopia's national curriculum. So far, 98 schools and more than 15,000 young learners have benefited, with teachers reporting students are more engaged and participatory in class.

Indonesia's Guru Belajar Foundation took a different approach by turning individual teachers into collective leaders. Their program helps educators move from improving their own classrooms to sharing best practices across schools and eventually partnering with government and civil society on education priorities.

Since 2021, more than 61,000 teachers have joined the program, with over 20,000 completing foundational modules. The foundation has documented 866 teachers whose influence now extends beyond their own classrooms, creating networks of peer support and professional growth.

The Ripple Effect

In Turkey, the Teachers' Academy Foundation created something rare: a completely teacher-led professional learning space. At their ÖRAV Education Festival, educators design and run their own workshops on everything from inclusive education to teacher wellbeing.

The festival adapted quickly when the 2023 earthquakes struck, immediately providing pedagogical and mental health support to teachers in affected regions. Since 2015, nearly 40,000 teachers have participated in 1,700 workshops, with satisfaction ratings consistently above 9.5 out of 10.

Teachers report not just learning new skills but feeling part of a nationwide professional community. They're more confident experimenting in classrooms and more motivated to collaborate with peers.

UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany captured why these programs matter: "Teaching is about far more than the transmission of knowledge: it is about accompanying students to develop the judgment they will need to navigate every stage of their life."

These three programs prove that investing in teachers creates change that reaches far beyond individual classrooms into entire communities and education systems.