The International Association of Universities (IAU), the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU), and the Agence universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) have agreed to strengthen joint collaboration to advance and promote the contribution of higher education to meeting our shared global challenges, with a view to signing a formal memorandum of understanding (MOU) in 2020.

Education – from cradle to grave, including higher education – is the necessary solution to most complex and intractable issues of our time, from climate change to inequality, migration to lack of access to education. None of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) identified in the UN Agenda 2030 can be achieved without the contribution of higher education and research.

The need for equitable quality higher education is arguably greater than ever, as is the need to advocate the role of higher education in sustainable development at the highest levels, such as the United Nations. This requires a global response enabled by international cooperation.

The three associations have a complementary membership and together represent more than 2,000 higher education institutions from across all continents, and thanks to the IAU World Higher Education Database (WHED.net) they can reach out to more than 20,000 institutions. This diverse membership reaches out to higher education institutions, research institutes and associations internationally.

The associations share a commitment to improving higher education, including access, equity and inclusion in higher education, and a belief that international collaboration is essential to the health and vitality of the sector globally.

This partnership builds on recent collaboration between the associations, including the release of a joint statement on higher education’s essential contribution to the SDGs at the 2019 UN High-level Political Forum in New York. Jointly the associations will advocate for the role of higher education for sustainable development in global for and develop joint events, projects and initiatives to address higher education issues and in particular to harness higher education’s contribution to the SDGs.