On the anniversary of the adoption of the ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers, 5 October 1966, the Joint Committee, composed of independent experts appointed to monitor and promote the application of the 1966 and 1997 Recommendations on the status of teachers, supports the theme chosen to commemorate World Teachers’ Day 2000: Expanding Horizons. The 1966 Recommendation is an international instrument designed to highlight the importance of the role of the teaching profession in promoting education in its most basic dimensions. The Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher-Education Teaching Personnel, which was adopted by UNESCO in 1997, extends the application of international standards to higher education teaching staff. On this occasion, the CEART would also like to underline the role of teachers and researchers of higher education in expanding horizons.

In a world that faces major challenges, including such issues as globalization, the AIDS pandemic, increasing drug abuse, internecine warfare in several countries and new information and communication technologies, EDUCATION remains a fundamental means of meeting these challenges. In this context, teachers more than ever deserve greater respect and support in every country.

Much has changed throughout the world since the 1960s, but as the Joint Committee said in 1988, on the occasion of its Fifth Ordinary Session, one truth endures: the status of teachers depends on the status of education, just as the status of education depends on the status of teachers.

At all levels of education, teachers are at the very heart of the efforts made to establish the common foundations for the acquisition of skills, knowledge, culture, respect for constructive achievements and regard for codes of conduct that are essential for the economic, social and cultural progress of society. If the mission of education does not command the respect and support of the entire community, teachers will neither be respected nor supported.

Accordingly, at the approach of the eighth World Teachers' Day, the Joint Committee decided at its Seventh Session held at the ILO, Geneva, from 11 to 15 September 2000, to urgently appeal to all educational communities throughout the world - governments, teachers' organizations, parent-teacher and student associations - to enter into a frank and honest social dialogue at national, regional and international levels, in order to eliminate all misunderstandings that could be a source of conflict or a major obstacle to the promotion of quality education.