EUTOPIA, the AUF and Science Diplomacy

French-speaking scientific diplomacy as a catalyst in the European EUTOPIA alliance

French-speaking scientific diplomacy as a catalyst in the European alliance EUTOPIA – a project funded by AUF Western Europe. The EUTOPIA Alliance is the winner of the call for projects on scientific diplomacy from the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie – Western Europe. The EUTOPIA-francophone project wishes to develop a European and academic commitment to scientific diplomacy through French-speaking support.

The European University Alliance EUTOPIA recognizes the critical role of universities as actors in science diplomacy. As centres of scientific research, EUTOPIA universities provide valuable information and expertise to inform policy decisions and promote cross-border scientific collaboration that can lead to developing new ideas and approaches to addressing global challenges. Independent, these universities can approach scientific issues objectively and impartially, making them neutral intermediaries and valuable partners in pursuing evidence-based policy. With their consolidated international networks, EUTOPIA universities serve as bridges between their local communities and the rest of the world, carrying best practices across distances and cultures.

Finally, as academic agents of public understanding of science, members of this alliance can help support scientific research and innovation through citizen engagement. Recognizing that its expertise, network and commitment to international cooperation make it a valuable partner in addressing global challenges and promoting scientific progress, EUTOPIA is the only European university alliance with a concrete commitment to diplomacy scientists in general and French-speaking in particular.

Today, EUTOPIA includes ten member universities and four global partner universities. All EUTOPIA universities that are members of the AUF are committed to the EUTOPIA-francophone project. Thus, by adding the French-speaking linguistic component as a force for action in the scientific diplomacy dialogue, they wish to offer an important lever in the global dialogue.

The project’s objective is to study cases of the presence of scientific diplomacy in the universities of the AUF alliance members and propose a roadmap for implementing it in the governance of the whole alliance universities.

Coordinating University: 

• CY Cergy Paris University

AUF Western Europe Member Partner: 

• Pompeu Fabra University Barcelona, Spain

AUF member partners outside Western Europe: 

• Babes-Bolyai University, Romania
• University of Stellenbosch, South Africa

Non-AUF university partners: 

• Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium (coordinator of the scientific diplomacy component in EUTOPIA and strategic partner of the EUTOPIA-francophone project)
• Ca’ Foscari University Venice, Italy
• Technische Universität Dresden, Germany
• University of Gothenburg, Sweden
• University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
• NOVA University Lisbon, Portugal;
• The University of Warwick, Great Britain.

Non-academic partners:

• Embassy of Romania in Paris
• Embassy of Spain in Paris
• European Union Alliance for Science Diplomacy