Cross-Country Education Leaders to Discuss Holistic Education at GIHES
Hundreds of education leaders from across countries, ranging from kiai who lead Islamic boarding schools, heads of educational institutions, to policymakers across Asia, will gather at the international forum Global Islamic Holistic Education Summit (GIHES) 2026, to be held in Jakarta in September 2026.
“This high-level forum, which is part of the 100th Anniversary Commemoration of Pondok Modern Darussalam Gontor, is being held exclusively to examine the future of holistic education amid the challenges of the modern era,” said GIHES 2026 Organising Committee Chairman KH Hadiyanto Arief in Jakarta on Friday.
The major event, a collaboration between Pondok Modern Darussalam Gontor, Universitas Darussalam (UNIDA) Gontor, and the Gontor Alumni Pesantren Forum (FPAG), is scheduled to take place on 5-6 September 2026 at Hotel Borobudur, Central Jakarta.
Hadiyanto said one of the main focuses of GIHES 2026 is to address the phenomenon of mental fragility that is increasingly afflicting the younger generation worldwide.
According to him, the rapid advancement of information technology has not been matched by readiness in character and leadership.
“We see that true holistic education exists in pesantren, where for a full 24 hours students are nurtured in their mental, moral, and soft skills,” said Hadiyanto.
Through this forum, he said, Gontor seeks to introduce the pesantren education model, which has been proven as a global solution to provide comprehensive global insight.
In addition, GIHES 2026 is not only convened by education leaders from across Asia, but also features experts and keynote speakers representing five continents.
Hadiyanto said the presence of cross-continental speakers is expected to help participants examine future education systems that are relevant without neglecting moral values.
“This strategic meeting at Hotel Borobudur is targeted to produce international collaboration to strengthen the position of pesantren in the global civilisation arena towards Gontor’s second century,” Hadiyanto revealed.