Universities as Bridges Across the Mediterranean

“Universities as Bridges Across the Mediterranean,” online event brings together Mediterranean higher education stakeholders, academics, students, and other partners and policy makers to support concrete cooperation across learning and teaching, research, and people-to-people exchange.

The event is grounded in the conviction of the Inter-University Centre Dubrovnik (IUC) that in a time of profound geopolitical change and growing uncertainty it is more important than ever to strengthen international academic cooperation.

Universities and research institutions have a vital role in sustaining dialogue, building mutual understanding, and creating opportunities for constructive collaboration across political, cultural, and geographical divides. The IUC’s mission is founded on the belief that scholars and universities should be able to meet, exchange ideas, and pursue common academic interests in an independent international environment. These principles also reflect a longstanding Mediterranean tradition of diplomacy, openness, and engagement across shores.

This program therefore focuses on turning renewed efforts such as the EU Pact for the Mediterranean into practical bridge-building actions: sustained institutional relationships, meaningful academic mobility, equitable participation, and collaboration in joint programmes, interdisciplinary research, and early-career opportunities. The event also highlights that cooperation must be grounded in academic freedom, openness, mutual respect, and the equal value of knowledge and expertise across the region, aiming for lasting relationships rather than isolated exchanges.

Register here: https://forms.gle/1PsA5HCWA9mpnJCa6

Agenda

14:55 | Zoom opens

15:00 | Welcome address and opening

Professor Ivan Šimonović, Director of the IUC Dubrovnik; Rapporteur UN Human Rights Committee

15:10 | European Commission Priorities and Initiatives

Mr. Francisco Joaquin Gaztelu Mezquiriz, Directorate-General for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf, Director for North Africa (MENA.A)

15:20 | Interactive Bridge-Building Input from the audience

15:25 | Student perspective – What kind of bridges do students find necessary?

Simone Lapore, President of Erasmus Student Network

Jaber Maataoui, Vice President (North Africa), AASU

15:45 | Interactive Bridge-Building Input from the audience

15:50 | Tunisian perspective: International collaboration

Professor Wafa Harrar Masmoudi, University of Carthage, Faculty of Legal, Political and Social Sciences

16:00 | Interactive Bridge-Building Input from the audience

16:05 | IUC statement and synthesis

Professor Gunn Elisabeth Birkelund, Chair of the Executive Committee of the IUC Dubrovnik; Professor Emeritus University of Oslo,

former Secretary General, The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters

16:15 | Q&A and final reflections

16:30 | Closing of the event