The Main Dome for Interbeing at Al-Fanar School Dubai, Jan 2026
This past weekend, we gathered in nature. Not as metaphor, but as medicine.
School leaders from the region – the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, and beyond – Cyprus, Singapore, the UK, Albania and North Macedonia – came to Al-Fanar School in Dubai this past weekend for our inaugural Interbeing Assembly.
These leaders hadn’t signed up for just another conference, with another list of takeaways to implement on Monday morning. They came because something needed to shift.
Interbeing was designed as a cultural reset. A chance to step out of the relentless rhythm of outcomes and into the deeper cadence of reflection, story, and shared presence. Over two days, we moved through open-air story circles, creative workshops, fire-lit coaching conversations, and a tea ritual that invited us to slow down enough to remember: connection is not a luxury. It is The Work.
Interbeing Creative panellists Uzair Merchant, host Karishma Bhansali-Mehta, Avni Doshi and Lamya Gargash.
In the closing session of day one, Unlearning the Course: Rediscovering Curiosity, we sat with three exceptional creatives – filmmaker Uzair Merchant, Booker Prize–shortlisted novelist Avni Doshi, and pioneering Emirati artist Lamya Gargash. What emerged wasn’t a panel discussion. It was a mirror.
Uzair reminded us that creativity is not optional in an AI-saturated world – it is a daily practice of pushing back, of insisting that we remain the humans in this story. Avni spoke candidly about discarding seven full drafts before her novel ever reached an agent – a powerful parallel for education systems that prize outcomes over iteration. And Lamya shared that her greatest obstacle as a female visual artist who changes medium often was fear. Fear that took her until midlife to truly confront. Fear so deeply embedded in our school cultures: fear of exams, rejection, validation, getting it wrong.
Across the room, there was recognition. The system, as it stands, is no longer serving us. And yet, it is these very constraints that can stretch our imagination… if we choose to rise to the challenge and reimagine what is possible.
This wasn’t inspiration as fuel for productivity. This was inspiration as return: to aliveness, to courage, to the willingness to sit with uncertainty rather than rush past it.
Throughout the weekend, we moved between formats: visioning workshops where leaders met their future selves, with Nalini Cook and Esther Mustamu-Daniels. Workshops that reminded us of leadership models that allow for us to be our whole selves, with Faten El-Ayache and Matthew Burfield. Storytelling that released what no longer served into the fire with Gill Dean. An improvisation session with actor and theatre education lead Amy Jessop, that reminded us play is not frivolous, it is how we practice being present to what’s emerging. Coaching conversations that modelled stepping back so others can think for themselves with Efty Katsareas. An emotional tale of ancestors and the inheritance they pass on to us as leaders with Matt Hall. A shared tea ritual from Mai Mahmoud that proved slowing down is not indulgence; it is how trust deepens, especially in intercultural contexts. Found poems that fed our souls and nourished our creativity with Naomi Ward.
The Firepit at Al-Fanar, site of conversations that changed us
The setting itself held all of this, and more. Al-Fanar school – sunlit and verdant, rich in intentionally designed classrooms, rooted in nature – was more than a venue. It became a beacon.
As Interbeing attendees put it:
“The setting of being in nature was just wonderful and enhanced the connection. The space really enhanced the experience for me.”
Others reflected: “The sense of being present, being celebrated, being heard, oneness and togetherness… it’s been a game changer.”
“It gave me renewed purpose because I was surrounded by like-minded leaders who have inspired me.”
By Sunday evening, something had shifted. Not because we’d solved anything. But because we’d stopped trying to. We’d given ourselves permission to wonder, to reflect, to sit with the questions that don’t have tidy answers.
Education does not need more certainty right now. It needs more courage. More curiosity. And leaders willing to unlearn.
Interbeing reminded us: the reset we’re looking for doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens in community. Grounded in nature. Held in trust. Willing to ask better questions.
And perhaps that’s where the future begins.
If you’d like to join the waitlist for Interbeing 2027 in Bangkok, you can sign up to register your interest here.
