After practically ten years at the helm of the Worldwide Schools Forum (GSF), the founding CEO, Aashti Zaidi Hai, has revealed she will be stepping down, marking the end of a defining chapter in the organisation’s development as one of the most influential assembling platforms in global education.
In a reflective shift note, she described leaving “an organisation that is stronger, bigger, and more influential” than when it first started as a little convening in 2017 in Wolfsberg, Switzerland, where early conversations stimulated what would become a worldwide neighborhood of education innovators.
Global Schools Online forum has given that become a network of more than 200 organisations operating across 71 nations in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, collectively reaching an estimated 150 million kids. What began as informal cross-border learning exchanges has developed into a structured global platform for connecting non-state education suppliers, professionals, and innovators.
According to the outbound CEO, GSF’s journey has consisted of essential milestones such as its moving to Kenya in 2019 and subsequent convenings across South Africa, Ghana, and Kenya, which helped strengthen its identity as a relied on convenor and understanding accelerator in worldwide education reform.
She kept in mind that the organisation now stands on a strong institutional foundation, supported by a 2025– 2028 method, a cohesive board, a high-performing leadership team, and stable partnerships with global funders.
Management Shift Declared
As part of the leadership shift, the Board has actually designated Alina Lipcan as the brand-new President.
Lipcan, who has served in GSF’s senior leadership group for 5 years, is referred to as having played a main role in shaping the organisation’s growth from a small startup network into an internationally acknowledged education convening body. The outgoing CEO expressed complete self-confidence in her successor, noting that she brings connection, institutional knowledge, and strategic management to guide the next phase of the organisation’s work.
A Mission Rooted in “Proximate Management”
Reviewing GSF’s effect model, the outbound leader emphasized the importance of “near management”– the idea that those closest to kids, households, and classrooms are best placed to drive meaningful education change when properly supported and connected.
She kept in mind that GSF’s core viewpoint has actually stayed consistent over the years: linking local education innovators with worldwide networks, financing, understanding, and partnerships to speed up impact at scale.
“Networks and community are not simply a soft lever for modification,” she composed, “they are among the most powerful chauffeurs of sustainable improvement in education.”
Looking Ahead
While stepping far from executive management, she expressed self-confidence in GSF’s future direction, mentioning its strengthened governance, clear method, and broadening worldwide footprint. She likewise emphasized that the organisation’s biggest strength depends on its neighborhood of over 200 education organisations working throughout a few of the world’s most tough contexts.
She concluded by welcoming continued engagement from partners and specialists, motivating feedback on how successfully GSF has supported education organisations in attaining their objectives and advancing learning outcomes worldwide.
As GSF enters its next chapter under brand-new leadership, the transition signals both connection and renewal for a platform that has become a key bridge between regional education development and international education ecosystems.