History

During the G7 Summit in Biarritz in 2019, Emmanuel Macron launched an initiative to establish a coalition of universities from G7 countries, fostering collaboration to address the pressing global challenges of our time.

The presidents of 47 institutions from 18 countries, representing over two million students worldwide, adopted six principles and approximately 20 concrete actions. These initiatives aimed to address five major global challenges. As part of this effort, numerous Working Groups were launched to tackle critical issues such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Global Citizenship, and Human-Centered AI, among others.

The development and refinement of this initiative continued over the years. In January 2022, a Task Force on governance led to the implementation of a new governance framework. Additionally, the transition of the Secretariat took place, with Sciences Po initially chairing the Steering Committee before Northwestern University assumed the role of Secretariat in 2021, followed by the University of Toronto as Chair in 2022.

Despite challenges posed by the pandemic, member engagement remained strong. While some meetings were held online, including summits in the US and the UK, the Nice Presidential Summit in the spring of 2022 marked a return to in-person gatherings. In 2023, Tokyo hosted another summit, further strengthening international collaboration. The work carried out on Peace and Security was the subject of the Communiqué issued to the Japanese government prior to the G7. In 2024, Bocconi University gathered the Presidents in Milan and released a Communiqué on Access to Education. In 2025, the Presidential Summit will be hosted by University of Ottawa, with AI as the main topic addressed in the Communiqué.

Today, Working Groups remain the initiative’s most effective mechanism for driving progress, fostering critical engagement, and advancing collective action on major global challenges. 3 active working groups are active in 2025, on the Governance of AI, Climate Change and Sustainability, and Campus Dialogue.