Post by Università Bocconi

The Presidents of the #U7Alliance of World Universities came together for the 2026 U7+ Presidential Summit in Paris on April 14-15 and, in these times of global crisis, underlined how they seeks to partner with G7 governments to strengthen democracies, advance growth and social progress and promote multilateral cooperation. The U7+ Presidential Summit is the annual meeting of the U7+ Alliance, the first coalition of university presidents from 5 continents, dedicated to defining concrete, collective actions universities can take to address global challenges, in coordination with government leaders in G7 countries. Earlier this month, the U7+ Alliance was officially recognized as a G7 Engagement Group, thereby formally representing the higher education sector of the G7 countries.   This year, hosted by École Polytechnique, Sciences Po, and Université Paris Cité, 31 member university presidents and their delegates came together in Paris for the 8th edition of the U7+ Presidential Summit. Among the participating institutions was Bocconi, with the Rector Francesco Billari, who also moderated a session on ‘Social Role of Universities’. In a Communiqué entitled The Social Role of Universities in a Divided World, the Alliance underscored the importance of universities as guardians of democratic societies and called upon G7 governments and governments worldwide to better support their universities and to engage them as key partners in addressing the major challenges of our time. In an era of rapid technological and geopolitical change, the institutions reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening civic culture by advancing their academic mission, bridging social divides, and promoting responsible and sustainable innovation. Among the contributors to the working group that drafted the Communiqué was Marta Cartabia, Dean for Social Engagement and Institutional Affairs, and Silvia Colombo, Director of Institutional Affairs. The Communiqué was formally presented to President Emmanuel Macron by members of the U7+ Presidential Steering Committee. The U7+ Alliance was founded during the 2019 French G7 Presidency at the initiative of President Macron and France will also be hosting the next G7 Summit. Kohei Itoh, President of Keio University (慶應義塾大学) and Chair of the U7+ Alliance, highlighted that “President Macron was particularly pleased to see that the ideal he had hoped for the Alliance has stayed intact highlighting the capacity for Universities to adopt long term vision in a moving context marked by many crisis”. “Recognising the social role of universities is essential, especially given that young people are attending university today,” comments Billari. “The social impact of universities is significant in that they act, for example, as drivers of social mobility and the dissemination of knowledge. This social role is less clearly defined than that of education and research, which is why international collaboration in this area is important.”