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The Global University Associations Forum (GUAF) is a platform for dialogue, cooperation and joint action. Established in 2021, it brings together leaders of university associations representing major world regions.
GUAF is comprised of:
The Forum was established as a platform to foster systematic exchange between its members, in order to mobilise the collective capacity of universities to tackle global challenges. Indeed, research, knowledge and education have a pivotal role to play in responding to common challenges, be it global health and political crises or the major environmental, technological and demographic shifts that have prompted questions on the role of universities in shaping our future societies.
As a space for open dialogue, the Forum seeks to strengthen existing links between its members, building upon long-standing exchange and cooperation initiatives in areas where the collective resources and influence of members can add value. Through joint action, the Forum aims to build political awareness of the university sector’s current and potential contributions and how these can drive positive change.
GUAF was established with two distinct purposes: to serve as a platform for knowledge exchange among its member associations; and as a vehicle for action where the collective knowledge, capacity and outreach of its members can advance priority issues.
Forum members are typically represented by their president and/or secretary general. Regular meetings provide space for peer exchange and mutual learning among university association leaders and facilitate dialogue on pathways to jointly address common challenges.
The chair of the Forum rotates annually. Provision of secretarial support and responsibility for organisation of the annual meeting is shared among members.
On 23 April 2024, members of the Forum released a joint statement, on the topic of the UNESCO Global Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education.
This statement highlights the Convention’s potential to establish universal principles for fair and transparent recognition of qualifications in higher education on a global scale and points to key actions that need to be taken in order to ensure the right framework conditions for the Convention’s vision to be realised.
As the inaugural chair, EUA convened the first in-person meeting of Forum membersin May 2022, in Barcelona, to coincide with the UNESCO World Higher Education Conference.
The second annual meeting was hosted by ASEAN University Network (AUN) in Bangkok, Thailand, in September 2023, while the third took place in Beijing, under the chair of the China Association of Higher Education (CAHE), in October 2024.
Members of the Global University Associations Forum (GUAF) have released a joint statement on the topic of the UNESCO Global Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education ...
On 17 May, representatives of the European University Association and fellow university associations in Africa, the Americas, the Arab region and Asia came together in Barcelona to formally constitute ...
The members of the Global University Associations Forum (GUAF) are pleased to announce a webinar taking place on 5 June, entitled ‘Challenges and opportunities in recognition of qualifications in hi ...
The annual meeting of the Global University Associations Forum (GUAF) took place on 4-5 September 2023, in Bangkok, Thailand. This is the second time that GUAF’s members have met in person, with thi ...
