Bar-Ilan University has become a member of the distinguished Agence universitaire de la Francophonie (Francophonie University Agency — AUF).
Based in Brussels, AUF brings together 1,007 universities, major schools, academic networks and scientific research centers using the French language in 119 countries, among them Arab and African countries.
AUF Membership can include budgetary assistance in organizing academic events, such as conferences, publications, student exchanges and lecturers, with countries of the developing world and the establishment of integrated projects with French-speaking countries on all continents. It also allows Bar-Ilan to participate in tenders for international cooperation between member countries in the soft and hard sciences alike and enables all university researchers to apply for financial assistance and collaborations.
The membership agreement between the AUF and Bar-Ilan University was formulated and signed in full and continuous cooperation with the French Institute of Tel Aviv and the Department of French Culture at Bar-Ilan.
“The Department of French Culture has a long tradition of organizing conferences and other scientific activities with French-speaking centers of research and universities. There’s no doubt that such an agreement can enhance and vary our collaboration with countries and partners with which we have not yet had any partnership to this date,” says Prof. Galia Yanoshevsky, chair-elect of the French Culture Department.
Founded nearly 60 years ago, AUF is one of the largest associations of higher education and research institutions in the world. It is also the operator for higher education and research of the Francophonie Summit. As such, it implements, in its field of competence, the resolutions adopted by the Conference of Heads of State and Government of countries where French is spoken. Today AUF projects emphasize the combination of professional training, scientific development and governance. One currently underway supports 92 COVID-19 research projects in 44 member countries.