Bring an idea you can't stop thinking about.
Leave with the plan, the network, and the courage to lead what comes next.
Al-Maseira: The Journey Cairo
A 3-day design sprint for educators and school leaders driving change in their schools
October 8—10, 2026 | Cairo, Egypt
Hosted at the American International School of Egypt
Who is The Journey For
You are excited about making change happen at your school. Educator, Instructional Coach, Curriculum Coordinator, Innovation Lead, Department Head, Assistant Principal, Director, Head of School.
Your school is grappling with AI, change leadership, and/or student flourishing
You are excited to build, not browse.
Facilitated through Evolution Academy by Middle States Association. Inspiring wise change in 3400 schools across 117 countries since 1887.
The world is shifting under your feet.
AI in the classroom. Student well-being in the hallways. Strategic questions in the boardroom.
Educators making progress on these questions are doing it together.
What You’ll Leave With
01
A peer-reviewed plan for the change your school needs you to lead.
02
A network of educators and school leaders from across the region working the same questions in different schools.
04
A seat at the virtual June 2027 Showcase to celebrate your growth.
03
Quarterly cohort check-ins throughout the school year to help you keep momentum.
Three Days. One Focus.
You stay in one workshop for the full three days with the same cohort. Every workshop is built the same way: new learning, design time, collaboration, peer review, and build time.
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You walk out with a plan to lead AI at your school rooted in mission. What it looks like across your classrooms, your faculty practice, and your policies.
Irreplaceable: The AI-Ready School Leader. Anju Shivaram, AI Project Manager, Middle States Association.
Rooted & Reimagined: Building a School AI Culture from Mission to Practice. Morgan Mifflin, AI Project Manager, Middle States Association.
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You walk out with a roadmap for the change you came to lead. Strategic shifts. New directions. Closing the gap between the plan and the reality.
Wise Change Leadership through the Self-Study Process. Dr. Lina Lewis, Associate Vice President of Accreditation, Middle States Association.
The Phoenix Project. Dr. Tara Waudby, Vice President of Evolution Academy, Middle States Association.
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You walk out with a plan that turns scattered programs on wellbeing, belonging, and inclusion into a coherent system.
Building Student Wellbeing Systems: From Discrete Programs to Schoolwide Implementation. Dr. Lorna Fairess, Associate Vice President of Accreditation, Middle States Association.
Creating Growth through Experiential Cycles: For Learning, For Leading, For Living. Dr. Michelle Haag, Associate Vice President of Accreditation, Middle States Association.
Designed to Include: A Teacher's Toolkit for Removing Barriers to Learning. Lauren Jones, CEO, Lauren Jones Consulting.
The Room.
Many of the conversations that matter most in education are happening across MENA.
We've invited 136 schools across 12 countries: Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Lebanon, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, Qatar, Tunisia, and Sudan.
Same room. Same questions. Different schools. Different perspectives.
Pricing
Individual Seat
Single Participant
Early Bird: $200
Standard: $250
Team of 5
From the same school
Early Bird: $950 ($190 per seat)
Standard: $1,125 ($225 per seat)
*Each workshop is capped at 50 seats. Reservations are first come, first served.
Early bird through August 15. Standard pricing after.
Team of 10
From the same school
Early Bird: $1,800 ($180 per seat)
Standard: $2,000 ($200 per seat)
Frequently Asked Questions
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Three days of programming with your cohort
Coffee breaks and lunch across two days, plus a Thursday evening reception
Workshop materials
Quarterly cohort check-ins
A seat at the June 2027 Showcase of Success
Travel and hotel are separate.
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Yes, and we recommend it. Change work is hard to carry alone. Bring colleagues, and you have partners to drive your initiative forward.
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Conferences are built for breadth: many topics, many speakers, many rooms. The Journey is built for depth. One workshop. One cohort. Three days of new learning, dialogue, peer review, and design. You leave with a plan refined alongside peers, and a cohort that stays with you across the school year.
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No. This experience is built for anyone leading change in any school.
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Quarterly cohort calls. A June 2027 Showcase where you present what changed at your school.
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To get more information and sponsor this event, please reach out to nkaldas@msa-cess.org
What School Leaders Had to Say About The Journey 2025!