An international education conference focused on teaching practice and preparing students for an AI-driven future
In recent years, Israel’s education system has experienced significant upheaval: a global pandemic, social tensions, wars, and ongoing security challenges. The daily routine of students and teachers has been disrupted, learning continuity has been interrupted, the shortage of high-quality teachers has deepened, and the burden on those who remain has grown. In this reality, the question of how to cultivate Israel’s next generation of excellence has become both urgent and complex.
In order to place education back at the center of Israel’s public agenda, and to mobilize educators around a shared effort, the foundation has in recent years convened a large international conference every two years. These gatherings bring Israel’s education community into dialogue with innovative ideas, groundbreaking research, and experience-based insights from leading education systems around the world, creating a professional space for reflection and exchange.
The previous conferences in this series, held in 2022 and 2024 under the title, Let’s Imagine, took place immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic and during the first year following the events of October 7. They offered a powerful experience that combined innovation with emotional affinity, and were organized in partnership with peer philanthropic foundations, including Arison, Azrieli, Yad Hanadiv, Davidson, Rashi, and others.
In 2026, we propose to hold the third Let’s Imagine conference following a regional war with Iran and at a time when Israel’s education system will be entering a period of recovery and renewal, alongside emerging regional opportunities. The conference will focus on the here-and-now of school: the work of teaching itself, and practical steps that can help teachers guide their students toward a future shaped by artificial intelligence.
The conference will take place in Tel Aviv and is expected to host approximately 1,000 participants from Israel and abroad. Alongside educators, we intend to include students and youth as active participants in the discussions, providing an opportunity for conversation about their future in which their voices are heard. As in previous years, the conference will be organized in partnership with philanthropic foundations and will serve as a broad professional gathering of key stakeholders shaping education in Israel.
The 2026 conference will incorporate dimensions of artificial intelligence both in its content – demonstrating the integration of advanced technologies in education – and in the way the conference itself is produced, designed, and documented. In addition, the circle of participants will expand to include educators from neighboring countries and from Jewish communities around the world. The conference will be held at the central venue at the Tel Aviv Port and may also include online broadcasts from selected schools.
* The text above shows the grant as approved by the Foundation’s Board of Directors / Grant 656