ABU DHABI // The former British prime minister Gordon Brown will be among those at the capital's first global education summit next month.
The Transforming Education Summit (Tes) will bring together more than 150 education leaders from 30 countries between May 7 and May 9 to analyse education needs and develop strategies for effective leadership and system changes.
The Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec), which is hosting the event, has started an overhaul of the government education system and expects the summit to add expertise and push for effective global reform.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the consultancy Booz & Company and Advanced Technology Investment Company are partners with the authority in the event, which will be held every two years.
"We have invited decision-makers from all over the world because in Abu Dhabi we seek global participation," said Dr Mugheer Al Khaili, the director general of Adec.
"We should be able to compete at a global level. Global is not just a word but a big effort required from all those working in the education field."
The summit will explore topics including building capability, government leadership and the collaboration of other sectors. Keynote speakers include Tarja Halonen, the former president of Finland; Muhyiddin Yassin, the deputy prime minister and minister of education in Malaysia; and Mary Hanafin, the former Irish minister of education and science.
Tim Sebastian, the former presenter of the BBC's HARDtalk, will be the master of ceremonies.
Organisers said they looked at various international conferences, including the World Innovation Summit for Education (Wise) held in Qatar, but developed their own format.
Wise, which will be held in November, has also called its conference Transforming Education this year.
Sebastian Rubens Y Rojo, the director of Tes, said the summit in Abu Dhabi was more selective than the one that began in Doha in 2009.
"At Wise the audience is varied but at Tes every single attendee is a leader on an invite-only basis," Mr Rojo said.
He said their effort was to tap into the "how" rather than the "what" in education.
"We are not looking at what the best reform is, because right now that is known," Mr Rojo said. "But leaders are struggling in how to implement, transform and drive reform."
Dr Rafic Makki, the chairman of the summit and executive director of planning and strategic affairs at Adec, said the focus was on providing insights and developing plans that involved the community and local economy.
"We are looking at what the needs of the education system are: developing comprehensive leadership and how to translate strategies into groundwork," Dr Makki said.
Richard Shediac, the senior vice president of Booz & Company, said such discussions were more important in the Middle East because of large-scale unemployment among youth. One in four young people in the region are unemployed, which is double the global rate.
"In our recent survey [of businesses] we found that a third do not find students well enough prepared for the job market," Mr Shediac said. "A third also said that education does not prepare them to succeed."
Working committees will be established to work on recommendations that emerge from panel debates and a white paper will be published documenting the ideas put forward by leaders.
A local forum will be held to share the insights from the summit with principals, teachers, parents and pupils.
aahmed@thenational.ae
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
LIVING IN...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
New schools in Dubai
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
