Antalya University Declaration
A universal declaration on the future of the university.
The Antalya University Declaration, AUD, is a universal declaration of principles and commitments for the university. It is being drafted through an open global consultation, will be adopted by university leaders from every region in Antalya, Türkiye, in November 2027, and will then be opened for signature to every university in the world. Its convener and steward is the World Universities Foundation.
The future of the university, declared by the universities of the world.
The Declaration at a glance
One declaration, adopted by the universities of the world, to guide the university for decades
- Nature
- A universal declaration of principle: the shared commitments of the world’s universities, carrying the moral authority of its signatories. It is not a treaty and imposes no legal obligation; its force lies in the number, diversity and standing of those who sign it.
- Purpose
- To give the 35,000+ universities of the world, for the first time, a common charter for the decades ahead, defined by universities and not imposed upon them.
- Process
- An open global consultation in every region, twelve thematic dialogues, a public draft, successive revisions, and adoption by university leaders.
- Timeline
- Consultation opens in October 2026. Draft text in 2027. Adoption in Antalya in November 2027. Signature open thereafter, with a formal review every five years.
- Signatories
- Every university, of every type, size, language and region, in every country of the world.
The university at a turning point
For nine centuries the university has carried knowledge across every age. The forces now reshaping it are faster, deeper and global, and they reach every campus at once. Artificial intelligence is transforming how knowledge is produced, taught, verified and trusted. The defining questions of this century transcend nations, disciplines and political systems. Governments, markets and technology platforms increasingly define the future of learning, often with more coordination than the institutions entrusted with it.
No institution bears a comparable responsibility for knowledge, leadership and the future of societies. Yet the universities of the world have never declared, together and in their own name, the principles that bind them and the direction they choose. More than 80 percent of them have no seat at the global table. The Antalya University Declaration gives every one of them an equal voice in defining the future of the university.
The imperative
The university stands at the most consequential turning point in its history
- 01Intelligent machines
Artificial intelligence is transforming how knowledge is produced, taught, verified and trusted, at a pace no institution can govern alone.
- 02Challenges without borders
The defining questions of this century transcend nations, disciplines and political systems. No university and no region can answer them alone.
- 03Trust under strain
Societies are asking, with new urgency, what universities return to them. Silence is read as distance.
- 04Direction set by others
Governments, markets and technology platforms increasingly define the future of learning, often with more coordination than the institutions entrusted with it.
Adaptation without ownership leads to dependency. Change without vision leads to drift.
The imperative
The largest community of minds on earth has never spoken with one voice
- 35,000+universities
- 200+countries
- 260+ millionstudents
- 15+ millionacademics
- 20+ millionadministrative staff
- 1+ millionexecutives and leaders
By the universities, for the universities, and for humanity
The Declaration will set out, in a concise and enduring text, the principles the universities of the world hold in common, the commitments they undertake, and the direction they choose for the decades ahead. It answers to no government, market or ranking.
It will be the first universal declaration of the university: global from its first article, shaped by universities of every region, addressing the whole university, for the age of intelligent machines.
- Nature
- A declaration of principle, not a treaty. It imposes no legal obligation; its authority rests on the number, diversity and standing of the universities that sign it.
- Form
- A preamble and ten articles, brief enough to be read in minutes and cited for generations.
- Principle
- A shared direction, never a single model. Every university retains its mission, culture and place.
- Signatories
- Every university, of every type, size, language and region, in every country of the world.
- Review
- Open signature, public reporting by signatories, and a formal review every five years.
FC27 · WUF Founders' Council 27
Four initiatives, four boards
FC27 works in four tracks. Each track belongs to one WUF initiative and forms its Founding Board. Every participant chooses one initiative when taking a seat.
A universal declaration on the future of the university. The track agrees the drafting method and the consultation calendar; its board leads the text to adoption in Antalya, Türkiye, in November 2027.
Antalya, Türkiye · 26 to 29 January 2027 · Ducale Lara Resort, Kundu
The Declaration: nature and authority
The architecture of the Declaration
The final text will be determined through the consultation. Its architecture is established from the outset, so that every contribution has its place.
- 01The Preamble
Who speaks, and why: the universities of the world, at a turning point in their history.
- 02The Principles
The values that unite universities across every difference: truth, freedom of inquiry, institutional autonomy, integrity and service to humanity.
- 03The Articles
The commitments universities undertake in learning, research, their people and their place in society.
- 04The instruments of continuity
Open signature, public reporting by signatories, and a formal review every five years.
The draft text · The preamble
The draft text, submitted to the universities of the world
To open the consultation, WUF submits a draft text: a preamble and ten articles. It is offered for examination, amendment and improvement by the universities of the world. The final text will be theirs.
We, the universities of the world, of every size, age, language and region, assembled in Antalya,
Conscious that the university is among the oldest institutions of humanity still in being, and that it holds the knowledge of the past in trust for the generations to come,
Recognizing that knowledge is now produced faster than it can be understood, and that the questions that matter most belong to no single nation,
Affirming that academic freedom and institutional autonomy are the foundations upon which every other service of the university rests,
Convinced that every university, whatever its size, wealth or place, holds an equal claim to a voice in the future of higher education,
Determined that the future of the university shall be shaped by those entrusted with its mission,
Solemnly proclaim this Declaration, and undertake, freely and together, the following articles.
- Article 1Knowledge in the service of humanity
The university exists to seek truth and to serve the common good of all peoples. It shall not be placed in the service of any single power.
- Article 2Freedom of inquiry
Academic freedom and institutional autonomy are the conditions of every other commitment. Signatories shall uphold them, and defend them for one another.
- Article 3The equal standing of every university
No university is too small, too young or too distant to belong. The voice of a university shall not be measured by its rank.
- Article 4Access to higher learning
Every capable person, at every age and in every place, shall have a path to higher learning.
- Article 5Graduates for an uncertain world
Universities shall form people of knowledge, judgment and character, able to work with intelligent machines and with one another.
- Article 6Human judgment in an age of intelligent machines
Universities shall use powerful technologies to widen understanding, never to replace human responsibility, and shall protect the integrity of learning and research.
- Article 7Knowledge without borders
Research shall be shared across borders, openly wherever possible and honestly always.
- Article 8Rooted in place, open to the world
Each university shall serve its own city and region and carry its culture, while working with partners across the world.
- Article 9Responsibility to future generations
Universities shall care for the planet and for the future they hand on, and shall lead by example on their own campuses.
- Article 10Accountability to society
Signatories shall state openly what they stand for, report on what they do, and review this Declaration together every five years.
Draft text submitted by WUF for global consultation. The final text will be determined by the universities of the world.
The questions before the universities of the world
- What knowledge, capacities and values must a graduate carry into a world not yet visible?
- Which forms of knowledge must be preserved, advanced and shared responsibly, and how?
- Which ethical boundaries must remain firm in an age of powerful technologies?
- What role must universities assume in challenges that transcend borders, disciplines and political systems?
Purpose and impact
What the Declaration secures for universities, and for the world
- Clear directionA common charter to guide strategy, planning and partnership for years to come.
- A collective voiceThousands of universities speaking as one carry a weight no single institution can.
- Diversity preservedEach university retains its own mission, scale, culture and place.
- Graduates prepared for what comesUniversities united on what the future demands of graduates prepare them better.
- Knowledge in serviceShared commitments bring research and expertise closer to the needs of communities.
- Trust renewedUniversities that declare what they stand for, and report on it, earn the trust of their societies.
The precedents: declarations that endured
Some texts outlive their authors. Four of them show how
- 1948The Universal Declaration of Human Rights · Paris
Thirty concise articles set a common standard for all peoples and all nations. Brevity made it citable; universality made it endure.
- 1988The Magna Charta Universitatum · Bologna
Signed by 388 rectors on the 900th anniversary of the University of Bologna. A few principles, kept open for signature, now carry more than 970 universities in 94 countries, and were renewed in 2020.
- 1990The Talloires Declaration · Talloires
A ten-point plan of action, signed by more than 500 university leaders in more than 50 countries. Commitments that can be acted upon travel further than aspirations.
- 1999The Bologna Declaration · Bologna
Signed by 29 countries; its clear objectives and regular follow-up grew into a higher education area of 49 countries.
What they share
- ConciseRead in minutes, cited for decades.
- PrincipledPrinciples, not procedures.
- OwnedSigned by those who must uphold it.
- OpenOpen to signature, always.
- RenewedReviewed, so it never ages.
The constituency
Every university, every region, every stakeholder
The Declaration is founded on the principle at the heart of everything WUF does: full representation. No university is too small, too new or too distant to take part in its drafting, and no one whom the university serves is left outside.
Called to draft and sign
- Universities of every type
- Presidents, rectors and leaders
- Professors and researchers
- Administrative staff
- Students and alumni
- Associations and networks
In whose service
- Students of today and tomorrow
- Families and young people
- Cities and communities
- Employers and innovators
- Public bodies and councils
- Future generations
Every region
- Africa
- Asia
- Europe
- Latin America and the Caribbean
- The Middle East
- North America
- Oceania and the small island states
The constituency
The role of each constituency, and what the Declaration secures for it
| Constituency | Role in the Declaration | What it secures |
|---|---|---|
| University leaders | Contribute, adopt and sign | A charter they helped to shape |
| Professors and researchers | Bring their expertise to the twelve dialogues | A voice in the future of their disciplines |
| Administrative staff | Bring the reality of how universities work | Commitments that are practical and just |
| Students | Define the university their generation needs | A future shaped with them, not for them |
| Alumni | Bring the experience of life after graduation | A university that remains relevant |
| Associations and networks | Convene their members, connect regions | One charter shared across their membership |
| Public bodies | Receive and respond | A clear and united voice from universities |
| Employers and civil society | Bring the needs of society | Graduates and research the world requires |
The road to Antalya
The Declaration will not be drafted behind closed doors. Leaders, academics, staff, students and alumni may contribute individually or on behalf of their institution, through regional and global sessions held in person and online, so that no region and no type of institution is left behind.
- October 2026The global consultation opens to every university and every member of its community
- 2027A draft text is published, with the reasoning behind each provision, for examination and amendment
- November 2027University leaders from every region adopt the Declaration together in Antalya
- From November 2027The Declaration is opened for signature by every university in the world, and remains open
The global consultation
From the voices of the world to one text
- ConsultContributions are gathered from every region through open submissions, surveys and sessions, around the questions that matter.
- DraftA draft text is prepared from the consultation and published in 2027, with the reasoning behind each provision.
- ReviseUniversities examine the draft, propose amendments and follow the text as it evolves, version by version.
- AdoptUniversity leaders adopt the final text together in Antalya in November 2027.
The global consultation · Twelve thematic dialogues
Twelve thematic dialogues, one Declaration
The consultation is organized in twelve thematic dialogues, each open to every university, so that the Declaration addresses the whole of the university and not one part of it.
- 01Academic freedom and autonomy
- 02Access and inclusion
- 03Research and its ethics
- 04Artificial intelligence and the digital university
- 05Governance and accountability
- 06Quality and student success
- 07Cooperation across borders
- 08Funding and sustainability
- 09The university and its community
- 10Skills for the future of work
- 11Universities for peace and understanding
- 12Emerging and underrepresented universities
After Antalya
Sign. Uphold. Review
- SignFrom November 2027, every university in the world may accede to the Declaration on AUD.news. Signature is free, public and permanent.
- UpholdEach signatory determines how it gives effect to the articles, in its own way, and reports what it does.
- ReviewEvery five years, the signatories review the Declaration together, so that it remains faithful to a changing world.
Purpose and impact
A common charter strengthens every university that signs it
One Declaration, adopted together, gives every university a clear direction, a collective voice and the assurance that it does not face the future alone.
- Adoption · 2026 to 2027
- Universities of every region join the consultation
- Every region heard, every contribution examined
- The Declaration adopted in Antalya in November 2027
- Accession · From 2028
- Signatories grow year after year
- Articles translated into institutional action
- Progress reported publicly on AUD.news
- Endurance · For decades
- Universities shaping change, not following it
- A stronger voice where decisions are taken
- A text renewed every five years
Stewardship
The Declaration belongs to the universities that sign it. WUF is its steward and guardian, never its owner. WUF convenes the consultation, guarantees that the drafting is fair, open and representative, publishes every version of the text, and keeps the register of signatories. Participation and signature are free, in every country. The Declaration’s own home will be AUD.news.
The idea of a declaration by the universities of the world, adopted in Antalya, was first advanced by Prof. Bassem Khafagy in 2019. That call now has an institutional home equal to its ambition.
Risks and safeguards
Risks, and the safeguards against them
| Risk | Safeguard |
|---|---|
| Uneven participation across regions | Sessions in every region, online participation and active outreach by WUF and its members. |
| A text too general to matter | The consultation begins from concrete questions, and the text contains articles of commitment, not principles alone. |
| Divergence among universities | The Declaration establishes a shared direction, not a single model. Each university retains its own mission. |
| Misunderstanding of its legal nature | The Declaration is a declaration of principle with moral authority, not a treaty. This is stated in its text and on AUD.news. |
| Loss of momentum after adoption | Signature remains open, progress is reported publicly and the text is reviewed every five years. |
| Limited capacity of smaller universities | Participation is free, and may be as simple as a single contribution or a single signature. |
The call to every university
- Register your universityFor the consultation by writing to connect@w-u-f.org. Registration carries no obligation beyond openness to dialogue and shared responsibility.
- Designate a focal pointTo follow the consultation and gather the views of your community.
- Take partSubmit contributions, join a session, and examine the draft text when it is published in 2027.
- Bring another university, ideally in another region, to join the consultation and to sign alongside you in November 2027.
Antalya University Declaration PDF · 28 pages
A universal declaration on the future of the university.
