The Six Core Insights From Education House Davos 2026

Across the World Economic Forum, discussions were dominated by AI adoption, economic realignment, geopolitical instability, climate risk, and declining trust in institutions. A recurring concern was whether the global system is entering a period without a shared commitment to universal values, defined instead by competing interests and narratives.

Within this context, Education House was convened to position education not as a standalone sector, but as a shared investment in human capability, with direct implications for inclusive growth, democratic resilience, and long-term stability.

Participants widely agreed that education systems are preparing students for a world that no longer exists. In an AI-accelerated economy where the half-life of skills is shrinking, education can not be defined primarily as content delivery or workforce preparation.

Education must be reoriented around developing human capability and agency, with classrooms serving as spaces where young people learn to:

- think critically and ethically,

- navigate complexity and uncertainty,

- collaborate across difference, and

- see themselves as active shapers of their communities and futures.

This represents a paradigm shift: from education as transmission to education as equipping students to shape a better future for themselves and all of us.

A strong cross-sector consensus emerged that technology will not transform education without educators. Despite decades of edtech investment, participants acknowledged that:

- tools do not change systems; people do;

- teachers are not implementation risks, but system architects; and

- current demands on educators, including AI integration, personalization, student wellbeing, and navigating polarized communities, are unsustainable without redesigned support structures.

The most promising models discussed were human-centered, where AI augments educator judgment, reduces administrative burden, and strengthens relationships rather than replacing them. Reinvesting in teachers was repeatedly framed as one of the highest-leverage strategies available.

A strong consensus emerged that leadership development must sit at the heart of education transformation, not only for senior leaders, but across and at all levels of the system.

Participants emphasized the importance of:

- student leadership, grounded in agency, voice, and civic responsibility;

- educator leadership, supporting teachers to serve as designers, mentors, and change agents; and

- systems leadership, capable of navigating adaptive challenges and aligning policy, practice, and innovation.

- Leadership was framed not as positional authority, but as the capacity to act with purpose, judgment, and collaboration in complex environments.

While AI featured prominently across Davos, a clear paradox emerged: the more powerful AI becomes, the more essential human capabilities are.

Participants stressed that AI cannot replace:

- ethical reasoning,

- values-based decision-making,

- trust and relationship-building, or 

- leadership under uncertainty.

Education was repeatedly identified as the primary system through which societies can intentionally develop these qualities at scale. Human-centered approaches where technology augments rather than replaces human connection were viewed as both strategically and ethically necessary.

Education House participants acknowledged Davos as a profoundly privileged space and emphasized the importance of expanding whose voices shape global education conversations.

There was strong agreement that future progress depends on:

- elevating voices from the Global South,

- including youth and community leaders, and

- entering perspectives grounded in lived experience of systemic barriers.

Equity was framed not only as a moral imperative, but as essential to designing education systems that are relevant, resilient, and globally applicable.

Finally, participants emphasized that no single sector can meet the scale or complexity of the challenges ahead.

Education House demonstrated the value of cross-sector collaboration: bringing together education, business, government, philanthropy, and civil society to align incentives, pool expertise, and translate shared ambition into action.

There was strong interest in moving beyond dialogue toward:

-  practical partnerships,

- shared experimentation, and

-  system-level interventions capable of operating at scale.

Education House Davos 2026 demonstrated that education is increasingly recognized as central to the world’s most pressing challenges, even if still at the margins of formal agendas.

The next Education House convening, planned alongside the Skoll World Forum in Oxford in April 2026, will build on these discussions and focus on translating insight into partnerships and clear pathways for action.