Talloires Network

The Talloires Network is an international association of institutions committed to strengthening the civic roles and social responsibilities of higher education.[1] University civic engagement and social responsibility means: educating future leaders for change; mobilizing university professors and students to address pressing societal issues, to combat poverty, and to improve public health; and adopting socially and environmentally responsible institutional policies and practices.

In September 2005, 29 higher education leaders from 23 countries gathered at the Tufts University European Center in Talloires, France, for the first international gathering of heads of higher education institutions devoted to strengthening their civic roles and social responsibilities. They crafted the Talloires Declaration on the Civic Roles and Social Responsibilities of Higher Education, a consensus vision for the future of this work. The Talloires Declaration states: "Our institutions recognize that we do not exist in isolation from society, nor from the communities in which we are located. Instead, we carry a unique obligation to listen, understand, and contribute to social transformation and development." They formed the Talloires Network to promote action around the principles of the proclamation. As of May 2015, 350 colleges and universities in 75 countries have signed the Declaration and are members of the Talloires Network.

The Talloires Network secretariat is based at Tufts University and directed by Rob Hollister. The Talloires Network hosts conferences, produces publications on university civic engagement, provides financial and technical support to regional university networks, and awards the annual MacJannet Prize for university student civic engagement initiatives. Current and recent financial supporters include: The MasterCard Foundation, Santander Universities, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Walmart Foundation, Pearson Foundation, MacJannet Foundation, Ishiyama Foundation, and Tufts University.

Programs

The MacJannet Prize

The MacJannet Prize was established by the Talloires Network and the MacJannet Foundation to recognize exceptional student community engagement initiatives at Talloires Network member universities and contributes financially to their ongoing public service efforts.

The MacJannet Prize aims to:

Community engagement initiatives at Talloires Network member institutions are eligible to be nominated. The nomination and award process is held February through May each year.

Youth Economic Participation Initiative (YEPI)

In 2012, the Talloires Network launched a new $5.9 million global initiative in partnership with The MasterCard Foundation. This Youth Economic Participation Initiative (YEPI) aims to address the global crisis in youth unemployment by supporting the efforts of universities in developing countries to develop and test innovative university-led models that enable upper-year university students and recent alumni to accelerate their transition to the work force. The Talloires Network awarded eight Demonstration Grants of $350,000 to $465,000 to these universities: Universidad Veracruzana (Mexico), Universidad Austral (Chile), University of Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe), University of Cape Town (South Africa), University of Rwanda (Rwanda), National University of Malaysia (Malaysia), Lahore University of Management Sciences (Pakistan), and the International Institute of Water and Environmental Engineering (Burkina Faso). The Talloires Network supports these partner institutions in evaluating and learning from their efforts, and in encouraging the exchange of knowledge on this topic through the creation of a global Community of Practice.

University Volunteer Program

The Talloires Network (TN) and Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM) operate the University Volunteer Program to promote global civic engagement and community building through the international exchange of student volunteers within the Talloires Network member institutions. The program aims to instill long-term values of civic engagement and social responsibility in the volunteers such that they continue to contribute to their local communities and apply their experiences wherever they may go.

Volunteers must be enrolled Talloires University member students and participate in six-month-long assignments at a university in a country different from their own. Students will collaborate in activities that promote civic engagement and social responsibility with local communities. Participating universities are: Ahfad University (Sudan), University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong), Universidad Veracruzana (Mexico), Universidad Senor de Sipán (Peru), Pontifica Universidad Javeriana de Cali (Colombia), Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (Chile), Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey (Mexico), Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (Spain), and University of Western Sydney (Australia).

Regional Perspectives on University Civic Engagement Program

Fourteen member universities participated are collaborating on a project meant to analyze the civic mission of the universities in different regional contexts. Participants included representatives from the following universities: University of Glasgow (Scotland), University of Venda (South Africa), Tecnologico de Monterrey (Mexico), University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa), International Medical University (Malaysia), American University in Cairo (Egypt), Auburn University (United States), University of Western Sydney (Australia), and Tufts University. This program was facilitated in partnership with the Kettering Foundation.

Regional Partners

Publications

Current Publications

Forthcoming Publications

Papers-in-Progress

Steering Committee

Current members

Africa

East Asia and Pacific

Europe and Central Asia

Latin America & Caribbean

Middle East and North Africa

North America

South Asia

(*) Denotes university as one of the original 29 signatories to the Talloires Declaration at the 2005 Talloires Conference

References

  1. ↑ "Campus Compact Partners and Funders." Campus Compact. 2007. <http://www.compact.org/about/funders_partners>.

External links

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