LONDON, Jan. 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The top 50 shortlist for the GEMS Education Global Teacher Prize has been announced today. They were selected from over 5,000 nominations and applications from 89 countries around the world. 

Now in its ninth year, the $1 million prize – the largest of its kind – is a Varkey Foundation initiative held in collaboration with UNESCO.

It was set up to recognise one exceptional teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to the profession as well as to shine a spotlight on the important role teachers play in society. By unearthing thousands of stories of heroes who have transformed young people’s lives, the prize hopes to bring to life the exceptional work of millions of teachers all over the world. Since its launch, the Global Teacher Prize has received over 100,000 applications and nominations from around the globe.

The top 50 shortlisted for the GEMS Education Global Teacher Prize are:

Africa
Ali Alfred Mokgalaka (South Africa); Dominic Ming‘ate Orina (Kenya); Faith Aku Dzakpasu (Ghana); Kayode Adewale (Nigeria); Mahamba Sebastian Ihonde (Tanzania); Stella Gyimaah Larbi (Ghana); Tionge Mtambo (Malawi).Asia
Gayatri Narasimhan (Oman); Junmerth Jorta (Philippines); Mansour Al Mansour (Saudi Arabia); Mohammad Imran Khan Mewati (India); Moza Mohammed Rashid Saadan Al-Hafiti (UAE); Muhammad Akbar Rafsanzani (Indonesia); Muhammad Nazmi Bin Rosli (Malaysia); Rumeysa Çevlik (Turkey); Shinya Sanzen (Japan); Zainab Saeed Salman (Bahrain); Zakiah Al-Lahyani (Saudi Arabia).Australasia
Brett Dascombe (Australia); Rosie Nicole Connelly (Australia); Subash Chandar K (New Zealand).Europe
Andreja Pavlović (Serbia); Ángel Luis González Serrano (Spain); Céline Haller (France); Danilo Kovač (Bosnia and Herzegovina); Giuseppe Fiamingo (Italy); Ile Mihajlovski (North Macedonia); Ioanna Zafeiriou (Greece); Lesia Pavliuk (Ukraine); Lucas Schildknecht (Luxembourg); Mairi Godley (UK); Marek Grzywna (Poland); Mohamed Al Hashoum (Austria).Latin America
Hans Ariel Díaz Herrera (Chile); Helder Guastti da Silva (Brazil); Jesus Castañeda Rivera (Mexico); Jorge Patric Peña Guevara (Ecuador); Karina Alejandra Sarro (Argentina); Lucas Daniel Vogel (Argentina); Luciana Ortega (Chile); Mayteé Guadalupe Gonzalez Reyna (Mexico); Melecio Tito Mamani (Peru); Ramón Majé Floriano (Colombia); Zamir Montero (Colombia).North America
Ann Marie Vanneste (Canada); Carla Neely (US); Erick Hueck (US); Marilyn Pryle (US); Sequoyah Wharton (US); Tiffany Pace (US).

Sunny Varkey, Founder of the Global Teacher Prize and Chairman of the Varkey Foundation, said: 

“The Global Teacher Prize was created to spotlight the critical role of education in addressing the major challenges of our time – from combating climate change to reducing inequality and navigating technological change. I congratulate all top 50 finalists, who are joining a global community of educators leading the way to build a better future.” 

Stefania Giannini, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education, said:   

“UNESCO is proud to support the Global Teacher Prize, which honours the dedication and impact of teachers worldwide. In a time of global teacher shortages, challenging conditions and technological advances, recognising and investing in teachers is essential to building a just, inclusive, and sustainable future. Teachers matter as they shape not only the next generation but the future of our societies.” 

Lisa Crausby, Chief Education Officer at GEMS Education, said: 

“At GEMS Education, we see first-hand the transformative impact that teachers have on the lives of young people worldwide. Every day, they inspire, uplift, and nurture the minds of future generations. We are deeply honoured to partner with the Global Teacher Prize, a remarkable initiative that recognises the dedication, passion, and resilience of teachers everywhere who are working tirelessly to build a brighter, more hopeful world.” 

GEMS Education is the largest K-12 operator of private education in the world, which owns, operates, and manages schools globally, reaching an international student audience of over 130,000. It offers four world-class curricula and has 400,000 alumni. It believes in delivering a consistent, dynamic, high-quality education for every child – something in which teachers play a vital role.

The prize is open to working teachers who teach children who are in compulsory schooling or are between the ages of five and 18. Teachers who educate children age 4+ in an Early Years government-recognised curriculum are also eligible, as are teachers working on a part-time basis, and teachers of online courses. Teachers must spend at least 10 hours per week teaching and plan to remain in the profession for the next five years.  It is open to teachers in every kind of school and, subject to local laws, in every country in the world.

Teachers applying for the Global Teacher Prize are assessed on teaching practices, how they innovate to address local challenges, achieve demonstrable learning outcomes, impact the community beyond the classroom, help children become global citizens, improve the teaching profession, and gain recognition from external bodies.

Interested teachers were able to apply for the Global Teacher Prize at www.globalteacherprize.org before the December closing date.

The prize will now be narrowed down to top 10 finalists, to be announced in late January, helping to raise the bar of respect for the teaching profession. The winner will be chosen from the top 10 finalists by the Global Teacher Prize Academy made up of prominent individuals, and will be announced at the World Governments Summit, taking place in Dubai from 11-13 February.

When teachers are nominated, the person nominating them writes a brief description online explaining why. The teacher being nominated is then sent an email letting them know they have been nominated and inviting them to apply for the prize. Applicants could apply in English, Mandarin, Arabic, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Russian. To join the conversation online, please follow @TeacherPrize.

Notes to editors:

1. The Varkey Foundation believes every child deserves a vibrant, stimulating learning environment that awakens and supports their full potential. The foundation believes nothing is more important to achieving this than the passion and quality of teachers. They support global teaching capacity and seed excellence and innovation in the next generation of educators. They also founded the Global Teacher Prize to shine a spotlight on the incredible work teachers do all over the world. For further details: www.varkeyfoundation.org 

2. GEMS Education is one of the oldest and largest K-12 private education providers in the world and a trusted and highly regarded choice for quality education in the Middle East and North Africa region. As a company founded in the UAE in 1959, it holds an unparalleled track record of providing diverse curricula and educational choices to all socio-economic means.

Having started with a single school run from a private home in Dubai, GEMS remains a family business to this day. Its inspiring Founder, Sunny Varkey, and his son, Dino Varkey, who is Group Chief Executive Officer, are responsible for providing vision, insight, and strategy across the organisation. 

Every day, GEMS has the privilege of educating students from over 176 countries through its owned and managed schools globally. And through its growing network, as well as charitable contributions, it is fulfilling the GEMS vision of putting a quality education within the reach of every learner.

Every year, students graduating from GEMS schools progress to the world’s best universities. Over the past five years, GEMS students have been accepted into over 1,050 universities in 53 countries including all eight Ivy League universities in the US and all 24 Russell Group universities and colleges in the UK.

For further information about GEMS Education, visit www.gemseducation.com

3. UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It contributes to peace and security by promoting international cooperation in education, sciences, culture, communication and information. UNESCO promotes knowledge sharing and the free flow of ideas to accelerate mutual understanding and a more perfect knowledge of each other’s lives. UNESCO’s programmes contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals defined in the 2030 Agenda, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015. 

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