Schools represent the world’s most powerful social network, one with the potential to connect 75 million teachers and 1.3 billion children globally. Connecting even a fraction of the world’s schools to each other – through models like peer-to-peer networks and knowledge-sharing partnerships – could unlock unprecedented opportunities for underserved learners, particularly in countries with high levels of learning poverty. It would also give schools the collective power to address even the greatest of global issues. 

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Despite the best efforts of governments and global policymakers, however, such connections have proved difficult to make, difficult to scale, and even more difficult to sustain. But there are still numerous examples of innovative models which have succeeded in bringing schools together to improve education and learning, as well as to address a range of different social challenges.

 

With just four years remaining to reach Sustainable Development Goal 4, what can the international community learn from these efforts, how can it support them, and what would it take to connect schools at an unprecedented scale? 

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SPARK.Dubai 2026 is a one-day conference that will explore ways to unlock the transformative power of the world’s schools. The conference, which will be hosted by the Varkey Foundation, will take place across four of Dubai’s leading schools on 2 February 2026 and will convene global leaders and education experts alongside teachers and students from more than 50 countries.

 

The programme will include a range of major announcements and activities, including a new global campaign and awards for inspirational changemakers, as well as the inaugural SPARK Schools Challenge, in which delegates will work together to create socially impactful projects. In the evening, delegates will also have the opportunity to attend the “Celebration of Teachers” Gala Dinner, which will mark the 10th edition of the Varkey Foundation’s US$1million Global Teacher Prize.