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The Talloires Network of Engaged Universities – a growing global coalition of 426 engaged universities in 86 countries – is soliciting Expressions of Interest (EOI) to host its next global leaders conference (TNLC2024), a 3-day gathering to be held between September and December 2024.
Talloires Network member universities and network partners are invited to submit an EOI individually or in collaboration with other universities and organizations.
Previous global conferences of the Talloires Network have been held in all major regions of the world and have benefited greatly from outstanding local leadership in planning and executing the conference and related events. As we select the host for the next conference, we are seeking similarly strong collaboration.
Our conferences are movement-building events, which provide a space for higher education leaders, students, and community members from various regions of the world to actively strengthen and expand the global university civic engagement movement. A key focus of the gathering will be critical reflection on practices, dialogue and exchange, and collective strategic planning.
The Talloires Network Steering Committee and Secretariat appreciate the complexities associated with planning and executing a successful global gathering. We acknowledge that such an endeavor requires thoughtful attention to a variety of elements including the alignment of Secretariat staff and local host priorities and work plans; an understanding of, and respect for, the host organizer’s culture, institutional systems, and competing priorities; and a willingness and ability to negotiate expectations and modify priorities as changes arise.
Institutional Transformation: The Role of Universities in Civil Society and the Potential of Networks
We are living in turbulent and unpredictable times. There are deepening inequalities within and between countries. Polarization within and between countries continues to grow as disinformation and hate speech against the marginalized escalates. Many societies are witnessing attacks on public and human rights institutions as well as threats to democracy.
Simultaneously, technological advances such as Zoom and WhatsApp allow us to come together, build lasting relationships, and share ideas and resources. The Talloires Network works with people and institutions around the world in solidarity, aiming to create relationships of common knowledge and purpose – shining a light on and taking action to deconstruct long-standing and oppressive systems of power.
Challenging existing hierarchies and building inclusive systems of power requires an orientation of “global citizenship,” which is embodied by capabilities such as courage, humility, and empathy. In short, the world needs more people who are equipped to deal creatively with intersecting crises – to operate effectively in highly uncertain and conflicted situations; to fashion inclusive approaches to combating existential challenges such as climate change, pandemic disease, rising water and food insecurity; to organize hopeful coalitions for change that bridge social and economic divides; and to mobilize the use of evidence for public decision-making in local communities and higher levels of governance.
The Talloires Network of Engaged Universities is one of many networks investing in the future of young people. We are devoted to nurturing the development of the next generation of global citizens with the capacity to contribute to building more equitable and prosperous communities; we practice structured listening and deliberative dialogue to increase understanding across ideological divides; we support and train university faculty whose research emerges from the intersection of local crises; we incentivize community-university research partnerships and evidence-based decision-making; we connect and mobilize civic institutions and human rights movements that seek to recreate systems of power that are more equitable.
Our next major movement-building event will challenge the way we think about the historic role of universities in their communities, highlight examples of institutional transformation around the world and explore how networked spaces[1] may play a role in advancing our common cause. Together, we will imagine a better future and identify the next steps on our collective journey.
Addressing Historic Institutional Injustices and Harms to Repair and Heal
Potential Avenues for Institutional Transformation
Areas Where Networks May Grow and Play a Role
[1] Virtual civic spaces (or “networked spaces”) foster global connection and collaboration across physical, institutional, disciplinary, and ideogical boundaries, and are enabled by virtual meeting technology, network organization and collaborative participation.
To express interest in hosting the next Talloires Network conference, please complete the Expression of Interest Form. Institutions or networks who apply to host the 2024 Talloires Network conference should be member universities or network partners of the Talloires Network. Institutions can become members through a simple and free process. Learn more about how to become a member here.
The host institution or network(s) will appoint a Local Organizing Committee (LOC), which will lead the planning and organization of the conference with the collaboration of the Talloires Network Secretariat.
Please submit your completed form by using the link below by 10 April 2023, at 11:59PM EDT (UTC-4). You may reach us with any questions by email.
If you would like to complete it offline, please download the form here and email in PDF format to talloiresnetwork@tufts.edu
You may complete the form below or by going to the survey link here.