Created in June 2019, the U7+ Alliance currently brings together more than 50 universities from all over the world around a common desire to structure and strengthen their role as global players on the multilateral agenda. For the past two years, members of the Alliance have met annually for the U7+ Summit, to establish a program of joint actions that will contribute positively to the issues on the G7 agenda.
Together, U7+ university presidents take stock of civic and social responsibilities, and engage in working groups to take action on behalf of their institutions to address the world's most pressing local, regional and global challenges.

Higher education also has something to say on international affairs," declared Frédérique Vidal, Minister of Higher Education and Research, on June 5, at the launch of the alliance.

U7+ summits, key annual meetings

The first U7+ summit, held under the high patronage of French President Emmanuel Macron, resulted in a vote on major principles designed to focus the work of the working groups on specific areas:

• Training responsible, active citizens: member universities plan to internationalize the student experience and the list of their partners, while enhancing engagement with local communities.
• The environment : U7+ members are committed to providing all their students with courses on climate, biodiversity and sustainable development by 2025, and to improving their energy efficiency and reducing their greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
• Combating inequality and the polarization of our society: the partner universities have embarked on a vast project to open up higher education to students from marginalized backgrounds and, more generally, to all local communities. U7+ members are also striving to stimulate entrepreneurship, social innovation and incubation.
• Promoting interdisciplinary research: U7+ universities encourage the development of bridges between different fields of learning in order to participate in the 17 goals of the Agenda 2030 established by the member states of the United Nations.

At the Tokyo summit in March 2023 on the theme of "The pen is mightier than the sword", a joint declaration was sent to the G7 calling on them to put peace and security back at the heart of their agenda.
As a result, three new working groups were set up on the following themes:

• Climate change and sustainable development
• Peace and security
• Access to higher education

For more information on the U7+ Alliance, consult the FAQ.