2nd Middle East Rectors' Conference in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

The Conference of Rectors of the Middle East Region (C2R Middle East) and the AUF in the Middle East organized the 2nd General Conference of the C2R Middle East, held at the University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, on February 5 and 6, 2025, in the presence of the Rector of the AUF, Prof. Slim Khalbous.

A number of university presidents and representatives from Cyprus, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar, Palestine (West Bank and Gaza), Sudan and the United Arab Emirates visited Sharjah on this occasion.

The meeting provided an opportunity to exchange views on strategic issues for the Francophonie in science, and to discuss the challenges facing higher education in the region.
In the presence of a number of French-speaking ambassadors to the United Arab Emirates and other officials, opening speeches were given by Prof. Hamid Al Naimiy, Rector of the University of the United Arab Emirates.Hamid Al Naimiy, Rector of the University of Sharjah, Mr. Jean-Noël Baléo, Regional Director of AUF Middle East, Father Salim Daccache s.j., President of C2R Middle East and Prof. Slim Khalbous Slim Khalbous, Rector of the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie, who also presented the major institutional and strategic milestonesgic milestones that await the AUF in 2025, on the occasion of its forthcoming quadrennial general assembly during which the new 2025-2029 strategy will be established.

A workshop entitled "Employability, professional insertion and the integration of skills into university curricula" focused on identifying ways of improving student employability by integrating innovative approaches into university curricula. It fostered a constructive dialogue between universities and companies, presenting the viewpoint of employers and the private sector in the region on the employability and skills needs of graduate students, for a more effective integration of skills into university curricula.and skills needs of graduate students, with a view to better adapting the university offer to the requirements of the job market, and better integrating young graduates into the workforce.

A second round table, entitled "Francophonie scientifique et langue française au Moyen-Orient" (Scientific French-speaking communities and the French language in the Middle East), provided an opportunity to identify the challenges, opportunities and initiatives to be taken in order to strengthen scientific French-speaking communities and the use of French in university curricula.French in university curricula, research and promotion, taking into account the specificities of a region that includes French-speaking, partially French-speaking and non-French-speaking universities.

The meeting, which brought together some 50 leading academics, most of them university presidents, enabled the heads of member institutions to reflect collectively on the direction of the AUF and its future strategy.

On the occasion of this annual meeting, three new members - Al Azhar University (Egypt), Holy Family University (Lebanon), and the American University of Iraq in Baghdad - joined the C2R Middle East. Today, this conference brings together 55 rectors, university presidents and directors of academic institutions in the Middle East, members of the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie, from thirteen countries in the region.

The C2R Middle East is part of an international context:
The generalization of the Regional Rectors' Conferences (C2R) is part of a program aimed at strengthening scientific diplomacy in the French-speaking world by promoting the role of universities, research centers and scientists. In 2022, the "Manifesto for Francophone Scientific Diplomacy" proposed by the AUF was adopted by the ministers of higher education of some forty countries. This Manifesto calls for the mobilization of all players - governments, universities and research institutions - to strengthen Francophone scientific cooperation and respond to societal challenges such as global warming, health crises or the endemic underemployment of young people.
It is within this framework that the AUF has generalized the Regional Rectors' Conferences (C2R), bringing together the highest authorities of its member institutions in its 10 regions worldwide.

Source: www.auf.org/