International Representations

The International Federation of Catholic Universities and its International Research and Decision Support Centre have the mission to disseminate knowledge useful to international decision-makers by providing the expertise of their universities. Consequently, different types of involvement in international institutions are possible: attending working sessions and participating in the drafting of resolutions and recommendations, contributing to working groups by proposing themes to be studied in greater depth, or producing policy papers.
FIUC has consultative status with UNESCO in Paris, with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in New York and participatory status with the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. The Federation is also present in the OECD Higher Education Stakeholder Forum and the OSCE Network of Think Tanks and Academic Institutions.

In order to fulfil its mission with regard to the social responsibility of universities (RSU), the Federation has to reflect on the human being and its place in contemporary society and environment. The main themes on which FIUC wishes to disseminate its expertise are education, training and access to the labour market, in the current context of globalisation. This leads the experts of its network to disseminate their knowledge in particular on the digital transition, innovative ecosystems including the notion of “innovative pedagogies”, or ethical and bioethical issues. This social responsibility must also be illustrated by a reflection on access to higher education for people with disabilities, migrants and refugees.

Finally, the Federation, being involved in the construction of Peace Studies networks, also wishes to participate in discussions and work on populism, the fight against hate speech, the prevention of violent extremism, human rights education, intercultural and inter-religious dialogue.