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interbeing 2026

a cultural reset assembly

Dubai • January 17–18 2026 • Al Fanar School

Not a conference,

a reconnection.

This isn’t sit-and-listen. It’s step-out-and-feel.
A rare gathering for school leaders who know the way we lead has to change.

And that it starts with how we gather.

What you’ll experience

An extraordinary leadership experience built around aliveness:

The MSB team welcome you

Gill Dean Director & Lead Coach
MSB
Matt Hall Director & Lead Coach
MSB
Julie Rees Leadership Coach
MSB
Naomi Ward Head of Learning
MSB

Saturday 9:00-17:00

Sat 09.00

Arrival & Check In

Sat 09.15 - 09:30

Finding Our Voice, Guided by Students

Jodie Quirke Director of Performing Arts
GEMS Wellington Cluster Creative Workshop
Sat 09.35 -10.10

Let’s Play

Amy Jessop Performance & Engagement Manager,
New Covent Garden Theatre Dubai Creative Workshop
Sat 10.15 - 10.55

Reimagining Leadership through the SOS Leadership Model™ : The 3 Myths to Unlearn

Faten El-Ayache Leadership Coach & MSB Associate Creative Workshop
Sat 11:00 - 11.20

Refreshments

Jones the Grocer Catering provided by Jones the Grocer - gourmet food for everyday living
Sat 11.30 - 12.15

Culture-Building Conversation: Plumbing and Poetry

Julie Rees Leadership Coach
MSB
Liz Miller Deputy Headteacher
Dubai English Speaking School
Coaching by the Fire
Sat 12. 15- 13.10

Unsettled Ground: Leading from the Inheritance of Dust

Matt Hall Director & Lead Coach
MSB Conversations That Change You
Sat 13.15 -14.15

Lunch

Jones the Grocer Catering provided by Jones the Grocer - gourmet food for everyday living
Sat 14.30 - 15.15

Ten years from now — who are you?

Nalini Cook WomenEd UAE
Esther Mustamu-Daniels WomenEd UAE
Creative WorkshopLocal Voices
Sat 15.30 - 16.45

Unlearning the Course: Rediscovering Curiosity

Karishma Bhansali Mehta Dubai-based journalist & facilitator of progressive education conversations
Lamya Gargash an Emirati fine art photographer, and the first UAE artist at the Venice Biennale 2009
Uzair Merchant Film Director, Creative and Writer/ Producer with credits on Deadpool, Misfits, Start Trek:Beyond
Avni Doshi a writer whose first novel Burnt Sugar was shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize

In a world driven by achievement and outcomes, this conversation invites us to pause and return to wonder. Through the lenses of art, story, and design, three creative voices explore what it means to stay alive to curiosity in leadership.

Local VoicesConversations That Change You
Sat 16.45 - 17.00

Close

Sunday 9:30-15:45

Sun 09.30

Arrival & Check In

Sun 9.45 - 10.30

Building Teams That Trust

Matthew Burfield Executive Vice President
GEMS Education Conversations That Change You
Sun 10.35 - 11.25

The Qualities (and Cross-overs) of a Poetic Mindset & A Coaching Mindset

Naomi Ward Head of Learning
MSB Conversations That Change You
Sun 11.30 - 12.30

The Common Values We Share - A Sip of Togetherness

Plus Refreshments

Mai Mahmoud Head of Islamic Studies
British International School of Abu Dhabi Conversations That Change YouCreative Workshop
Sun 12.35 - 13.10

From Rescuer to Coach: The Leadership Shift That Changes Everything

Efty Katsareas Leadership Coach
MSB Associate Conversations That Change You
Sun 13.15 - 14.10

Lunch

Jones the Grocer Catering provided by Jones the Grocer - gourmet food for everyday living
Sun 14.15 - 15.00

From Policy to Parable: Reclaiming Story as a Leadership Tool

Gill Dean Director & Lead Coach
MSB Conversations That Change You
Sun 15.05 - 15.45

Fireside chat and close

Coaching by the Fire

What you’ll take home

This weekend might change your career. It might change your life. You’ll return home with:

  • A clearer sense of self and purpose
  • Grounded practices for leading without burnout
  • Tools for trust-building, dialogue, and presence
  • A community that sees you and wants you to keep growing
  • Energy, clarity, and courage to lead in a way that feels fully yours

A space that shapes you

Hosted at Al-Fanar School, a soulful, Steiner-inspired sanctuary in Dubai, Interbeing is more than an event.

It’s a living, breathing invitation to reimagine leadership from the inside out.

No podiums. No PowerPoints.
Just conversation and connection.
Fuelled by imagination. Music.
Language. Story.

Who this is for

Interbeing 2026 is for school leaders who:

  • Crave space to slow down and reconnect to what matters
  • Want to lead with presence, not pressure
  • Believe education can be joyful, relational, and regenerative
  • Are ready to be changed by place, people, and presence

Maybe you’re proud. Maybe you’re running on fumes. Maybe you’ve built something powerful, and now find yourself asking, “What next?”

This is space to answer that.

Who this is not for

Interbeing is not for those chasing tidy outcomes, inbox zero, or CPD points to add to a résumé.

It’s not about passive keynotes and polished slides.
It’s about showing up, letting go, and leaning into what’s real.

Why now?

Because the world is shifting – and the way we lead must shift too. Because we need spaces that restore. Because leadership can be joyful, rooted, and real. Because cultural work begins with how we gather. Because there is a conversation in this place that only we can have.

This isn’t just two days in Dubai. It’s the way those two days ripple into how you lead, and how you live.

Your invitation to…

One extraordinary setting. One unforgettable gathering. Applications are now open.

If this stirs something in you, don’t wait. Save the date. Apply for your place today.

Apply Now