Generative AI and edtech advances are accelerating education toward a new era in learning — one that confronts us with pressing questions to address. As some educational systems embrace AI and edtech integration, there is a risk of retrofitting educational needs to technological capabilities rather than vice versa. 

This panel will debate the importance of adopting AI and edtech as tools for augmentation instead of substitution in education. It positions technology not as an endpoint, but as a provocation — surfacing a spectrum of possible pathways and futures. What principles should anchor us? What should guide us in deciding the path ahead? 

Education is the ultimate driving force for social and economic development. Yet, in a world of competing priorities and limited resources, putting education front and center demands new thinking and shared responsibility. 

From groundbreaking partnerships between governments, communities, and the philanthropic sector, to innovative uses of technology and data, collaboration creates new pathways to education for all. This panel will explore how shared responsibility and cross-sector cooperation can make use of untapped assets, build resilient education systems, and keep education a global priority. 

Stefania Giannini 
Assistant Director-General for Education, UNESCO 

The success of transformative technologies, innovative practices, and emerging pathways depends not only on the tools themselves, but also on the people who lead us to implement and adapt them. Leadership is at every level — in classrooms, schools, communities, households or among policymakers — and is essential to translate ideas into meaningful actions. And we must nurture and sustain these leaders to realize the full potential of educational transformation. 

This conversation will recognize the agency and capability for all to become agents of change in their contexts. In spotlighting some of these possibilities, we will also explore how to support people to develop the skills, agency, and mindsets to lead boldly and adaptively.

This is an interactive session designed to spark fresh thinking and collective action at the crossroads of innovation and collaboration. Through sharing local insights and exchanging ideas, participants will explore big concepts while connecting them to practical, adaptable strategies. 

We invite reflection on how education can address complex global challenges by grounding solutions in local contexts, ensuring long-term impact, and fostering meaningful human connections. This session will emphasize collaboration and mutual learning among diverse stakeholders: educators, policymakers, innovators, and community leaders.

The second day of the summit transitions from examining the crossroads facing global education to zooming into the turning points that changemakers experienced in leading transformations in education. While every changemaker’s path has been unique, they share moments of decision-making, milestones that extended boundaries, and, at times, failures that served as valuable lessons. 

In this morning session, we will hear behind-the-scenes stories from our Yidan Prize laureates and futuremakers in education, as they share critical junctures in their journey, and the principles and practices that guided their transformative work during those moments.

Let’s open the floor. What is the turning point you are facing today? This session will invite open discussion from our Yidan Prize laureates and participants on the critical junctures they are navigating — grounding diverse sharing in personal contexts and journeys.