Gontor's Centennial: GIHES 2026 to Offer Pesantren System as Solution to Global Education Crisis

Marking a century of its contribution to education, Pondok Modern Darussalam Gontor, together with Universitas Darussalam (UNIDA) Gontor and the Forum Pesantren Alumni Gontor (FPAG), will organise an international event titled the Global Islamic Holistic Education Summit (GIHES). The event is scheduled to take place on 5–6 September 2026 in Jakarta. GIHES is being held as a concrete response to the global challenges facing modern education. The current rapid pace of development has left a significant gap in the mental preparedness of the younger generation in various parts of the world, including in developed countries such as the United States. The Rector of UNIDA Gontor, Prof. Dr. KH. Hamid Fahmi Zarkasyi, M.A.Ed., M.Phil., highlighted the crucial phenomenon where many of today’s generation are not mentally ready to contribute to society. “Many young people today are mentally fragile. They struggle to collaborate, lack a strong work ethic, are weak in leadership aspects, and have minimal service orientation,” Prof. Hamid Fahmi Zarkasy stated today. Based on in-depth studies, Western countries have long been pioneering the concept of holistic education—an educational system that engages all aspects of a student’s potential, skills, and ways of thinking. However, this concept is considered to have never truly been successfully implemented in its entirety by any educational institution in the West. According to Prof. Hamid, the key to successful holistic education has long been alive and practised within the womb of the pesantren in Indonesia. He believes that true holistic education only exists in pesantren. This is because, for a full 24 hours, students are educated in their mentality, morals, soft skills, leadership, and various other abilities. The modern-system holistic education found in pondok pesantren is an extraordinary educational alternative ready to be offered globally. Through the momentum of Gontor’s 100th anniversary, GIHES is presented with the primary intention of exploring, formulating, and articulating the holistic aspects present in Islamic education, particularly modern pesantren, so that they can be adopted more widely at the international level. The Director of Pondok Modern Darussalam Gontor, KH. Hasan Abdullah Sahal, issued a special call and invited all important elements of Islamic education to unite their vision in this international forum. “I respectfully invite all leaders of pondok pesantren, Islamic education policymakers, Islamic institutions, and rectors of Islamic universities to attend and actively participate in the Global Islamic Holistic Education Summit in Jakarta,” said KH. Hasan Abdullah Sahal. This grand gathering is expected to become an important turning point for the Islamic world to offer an educational model that is not only oriented towards academic intelligence, but also towards character maturity, spirituality, and mental toughness.