Education pioneer and philanthropist, Sunny Varkey, today launched the 1 Million Schools Campaign, a bold global drive to enlist one million schools worldwide in a shared commitment to doing good in their communities and beyond – igniting millions of meaningful connections along the way.
Over the next five years, the movement aims to build a million-strong global community of changemaking schools tackling the world’s most urgent challenges. The campaign invites schools to take action across an initial four key themes, with more to come: climate education, food insecurity, education in crisis, and community leadership. It recognises the power of schools to drive change in areas like supporting families and communities, advancing sustainability, eradicating poverty, and tackling illiteracy. The 1 Million Schools Campaign was unveiled at SPARK.Dubai, a conference hosted by the Varkey Foundation at the GEMS School of Research and Innovation to explore ways to unlock the transformative power of the world’s schools.
Speaking onstage at SPARK.Dubai, Sunny Varkey, Founder of the Varkey Foundation and GEMS Education, said:
“Every day, schools – through their heroic teachers and students – are changing lives, often against the odds. The 1 Million Schools Campaign connects that courage and creativity across borders, turning it into a global force for good.
“This campaign aims to make a positive impact in areas from supporting families and communities, to advancing sustainability, to ending poverty and illiteracy. If one school can change a community, imagine what one million schools can change together. I urge schools in every corner of the world to come together and join this campaign. The invitation is open: one school, one action, one global movement – one million times over.”
To take part in the 1 Million Schools Campaign, schools can sign up on the Varkey Foundation website. They can commit to taking action in their own communities in one of the initial four key themes, or to helping scale flagship, teacher-led projects that are already transforming lives. Designed by some of the world’s most inspiring educators, these flagship projects mark the first step in a growing portfolio of initiatives, with more to follow. Schools can share their support of the campaign on social media using #1MillionSchools. They are encouraged to nominate other schools, helping the movement grow organically.
The Varkey Foundation will act as a global convener, leveraging a worldwide network built over more than a decade of impact through the Global Teacher Prize, Global Student Prize, and the newly established Global Schools Prize – for which applications are open until 9 February. Through the campaign, schools will gain pathways to peer learning, collaboration, and global visibility.
The initial flagship projects are:
- The Climate Action Project, established by Global Teacher Prize 2018 finalist Koen Timmers – a six-week project allowing teachers and students ages 3-21 to collaborate on environmental topics. It is the largest initiative globally aiming to bring climate education in schools. To date, the initiative has reached more than 7 million students across 182 countries.
- Build the Change – a monthly challenge in collaboration with LEGO, which sees teachers and students come up with solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges, such as tackling air pollution or designing playful city spaces that support climate action.
- Writing our Future, Together – a global initiative enabling teachers and students to take one pledge related to an environmental topic close to their heart, from reducing waste to recycling clothes.
- The National School Pantry Network, co-founded by Global Teacher Prize 2017 finalist Nathan Atkinson – a UK-wide initiative that helps schools take practical, dignified action to address hunger. Combining food access with enrichment, learning and stronger relationships with families, the project is designed to be adaptable and low-burden for schools.
- EduSpots, launched by Global Teacher Prize 2021 finalist Cat Davison – a community-led programme that helps establish community-owned learning hubs, or ‘Spots’, using accessible digital tools like tablets, WhatsApp, and the EduSpots app. EduSpots invites teachers and community educators across the world to join its ‘EduSpots AI for All: Workshop and Challenge’ to mark International Day for Digital Learning (taking place on 19 March) and join the wider EduChamps Community, to help ignite digitally-enabled, community-led education on a global scale.
Together, these initiatives showcase what meaningful, school-led change looks like in practice. They are intended to inspire schools to learn from one another, adapt ideas to their own contexts, and take action in ways that are practical, inclusive, and locally relevant. Over time, the campaign will expand to include additional initiatives, creating even more opportunities for schools to participate.
At SPARK.Dubai, participants also heard from some of the world’s most celebrated artists – multiple-Grammy Award-winning songwriter, composer, producer, arranger, and guitarist Nile Rodgers; Artistic Director, choreographer and dancer, Carlos Acosta; and acclaimed musician Matteo Bocelli – on how schools can spark creativity in the age of AI. Dancers from Carlos Acosta’s dance school, Acosta Danza Academy, flew in from Cuba to perform onstage. SRI students also took to the stage to showcase the school’s groundbreaking technology, including Mangobots – intelligent, interactive learning robots – and AI avatars built for education.