Who is Rouble Nagi? Indian Won Global Teacher Prize 2026

Rouble Nagi an Indian artist and social reformer won the $1 million GEMS Education Global Teacher Prize 2026. Rubal Nagi accepted the award at the World Government Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. This "Nobel Prize of Teaching" celebrates Nagi’s two-decade-long journey of turning India’s urban slums into vibrant, open-air classrooms.

The Global Teacher Prize 2026 was presented by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai alongside Sunny Varkey founder of the Varkey Foundation collaboration with The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Nagi was selected from a pool of over 5,000 nominations spanning 139 countries.

Who is Rouble Nagi?

Rouble Nagi is a Mumbai-based artist, muralist, and social activist." Born in Jammu & Kashmir and trained at the Slade School of Fine Art in London, Nagi initially gained fame for her sculptures and murals, redefined the concept of a "classroom", and established the Rouble Nagi Art Foundation(RNAF).

Rouble Nagi Art Foundation flagship initiative such as "Misaal Mumbai," she has painted and repaired over 155,000 houses in slums and villages, integrated over one million children into the formal education system and established more than 800 learning centres over 100 underserved communities and villages, reimagining abandoned walls as interactive educational murals that spark curiosity, creativity and engagement across the India

The Winning Concept ''Turning Walls of Learning’’

Nagi was recognized for her innovative initiative  Living Walls of Learning, a project where abandoned or broken walls in marginalized neighborhoods are transformed into interactive educational murals aimed to have children who never attended school begin to have structured learning experiences and paint murals that teach literacy, science, history and maths. These are not just decorations; they are "permanent textbooks" that teach: Literacy and Numeracy, Science and History, Hygiene and Social Responsibility and Environmental Awareness

Nagi places education directly in the streets where children live and play. She has successfully bypassed traditional barriers like lack of infrastructure, child labor, and poverty, reducing dropout rates by more than 50% in her target areas.

Indian artist and social reformer Rouble Nagi has won the $1 million Global Teacher Prize 2026 in Dubai. Honored for two decades of transforming urban slums into vibrant learning spaces, her Rouble Nagi Art Foundation's initiatives, like "Misaal Mumbai" and "Living Walls of Learning," use educational murals to integrate children into formal education, significantly reducing dropout rates and fostering community learning.

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