GIHES expected to formulate the future of holistic education
The Global Islamic Holistic Education Summit (GIHES) 2026, to be held at Hotel Borobudur, Jakarta in September 2026, is expected to formulate the future of holistic education in line with the needs of the times.
“GIHES is here to formulate the future of holistic education, balancing intellectual, spiritual, and moral development,” said Prof. Hamid Fahmy Zarkasyi, Chairman of the Gontor Centenary Commemoration and Rector of Universitas Darussalam (Unida) Gontor, in Jakarta on Monday.
He said that according to WHO and UNICEF data (2024), one in seven adolescents worldwide experiences mental health problems. Furthermore, World Economic Forum projections state that 39 percent of current core skills will be obsolete by 2030.
These conditions, according to him, place education at a crossroads. In addition, future challenges such as analytical thinking, resilience, leadership, and empathy are non-technical competencies rooted in character education.
“GIHES is a strategic response to the increasingly alarming crisis in modern education,” he said.
He expressed hope that the international community and educational institutions in Indonesia would be willing to learn from the pesantren education model. For him, a pesantren is not merely a place for classroom learning, but rather a “School of Life”.
He added that the vision of GIHES 2026 is to transform the local experience of pesantren into recorded knowledge that can be studied scientifically by the world.
He hopes the symposium will produce a “GIHES Declaration” as a shared intellectual legacy and a collective commitment to advancing Islamic education in the future.
According to him, in pesantren, students are educated through 24-hour discipline, organisation, leadership, and community service.
He said the international symposium, to be held on 5–6 September 2026 at Hotel Borobudur, Jakarta, carries the theme “Exploring and Revealing the Pesantren Education System”.
The forum presents a global perspective by inviting prominent speakers from five continents, all focused on strengthening holistic education.
From Asia and the Middle East, experts such as Prof Nuri Tinaz from Marmara University (Turkey), Dr. Mahamood Shihab, Principal of Anshar Training College for Women (India), and Prof. Dato’. Ts. Dr. Norazah Mohd. Nordin from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (Malaysia) will be present.
In addition, Prof. Ryoko Tsuneyoshi from Bunkyo Gakuin University (Japan) will compare the Japanese Tokkatsu concept with the Islamic boarding school education system.
From within the country, the symposium is fully supported by key government figures and academics, including MPR RI Chairman Ahmad Muzani, Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Prof. Abdul Mu’ti, Minister of Religious Affairs Prof Nasaruddin Umar, and Prof Amin Abdullah from UIN Sunan Kalijaga.
According to him, these speakers bring a uniform message: “We need an education system that touches the head, heart, and hands simultaneously.”
“This is a global consensus that education must not only produce workers, but must shape complete human beings,” he said.
Previously, hundreds of education leaders from across countries, ranging from Kiai heads of 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, part of the Centenary Commemoration of Pondok Modern Darussalam Gontor, is held exclusively to examine the future of holistic education amidst the challenges of the modern era,” said GIHES 2026 Committee Chairman KH Hadiyanto Arief in Jakarta on Friday.
The grand 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.