Interview of the month Passion, professionalism, perseverance – America’s Teacher of the Year Former New York homicide detective turned special needs educator Anthony Mullen is America’s Teacher of the Year 2009. On the eve of World Teachers’ Day (October 5) he talks to Eduinfo about why he swapped careers and the crucial importance of his job. More Coming up “Build the future: invest in teachers now”: World Teachers’ Day 2009, October 5 World Teachers’ Day 2009 puts the spotlight on the global teacher shortage and the challenges of being a teacher today. Sustained investment is required to develop a well-trained and motivated teaching force. UNESCO joins heads of state, football stars, business leaders and others in new advocacy campaign emphasizing the importance of providing education for all, October 6 1Goal campaign: a new global advocacy initiative aimed at raising awareness of the importance of education. What Education for the Future – Ministerial Round Table, October 9-10 What should education look like in 20 years time and what needs to change to get there? Competition to honour late Dr Jackie Kirk, open until November 13 A competition to find innovative gender-based research in the field of education in emergencies has been launched to honour Dr Jackie Kirk; killed in 2008 while working for the International Rescue Committee. Roundup 6th UNESCO Youth Forum debated global education challenges, October 1-3 How can education be made accessible to all and relevant to today’s needs? Young delegates explored the question as part of the 6th UNESCO Youth Forum An international expert seminar was held to address attacks on education. Experts met to discuss attacks on education, September 28 to October 1 Laura Bush makes opening remarks at UNESCO’s celebration of International Literacy Day, September 8 Literacy is at the core of sustainable solutions to the world’s greatest challenges. New International Guidelines spell out what sexuality education needs to teach Reducing HIV infection in young people and improving their sexual and reproductive health require effective education programmes. A guiding framework for Literacy The United Nations Literacy Decade International Strategic Framework for Action is now available to support and guide literacy efforts at local, national, regional and global levels in the second half of the Decade.