University of Mannheim: International university alliance urges G7 leaders to prioritize peace and security
As heads of state prepare for this year’s G7 summit in Hiroshima, armed or threatened conflicts have led to human rights violations in many regions of the world since the last meeting. At the same time, for the first time in a generation, there is an open threat of nuclear war.
Against this background, representatives from more than 35 universities from 16 countries came together this week for the annual meeting of U7+ university leaders (U7+ Presidential Summit) at Keio University in Tokyo, Japan. In a statement, they called on the G7 heads of state and government to strengthen peace and security education for learners of all ages, to always incorporate the latest research results into peace and security policy, the circle of high-level political discussions about peace and security to expand the actors involved, to protect academic freedom and to remove obstacles to student exchange in order to promote intercultural understanding.
“The world has seen major innovations in warfare; now is the time for innovation in peace and security,” says the U7+ Alliance’s current statement, the U7+ Tokyo Statement: Universities as Engines of Innovation for Peace and Security . Among other things, the alliance calls for “a comprehensive, long-term and complex understanding of the patterns and processes that lead to sustainable peace, including strong institutions, economic stability and social integration”.
The motto of the meeting in Tokyo was “The pen is mightier than the sword”. Accordingly, the members of the U7+ Alliance committed themselves to providing students with learning opportunities on the causes of conflicts and methods of peacebuilding, as well as sharing research results on issues of peace and security with political decision-makers and the public. They will also provide opportunities for students and researchers displaced by conflict, persecution and humanitarian crises to teach and learn at their universities and to collaborate with the G7 and United Nations bodies dealing with conflict prevention.
The declaration was unanimously approved by all university leaders and presented on Wednesday March 15 to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in his capacity as host of the G7 in 2023.
From the University of Mannheim, Rector Prof. Dr. Thomas Puhl and Prof. Dr. Thomas Fetzer, Vice Rector for Structural and Development Planning, Internationalization and Gender Equality, attended the meeting in Japan. Since last year, Puhl, who has been involved with Allianz since its inception, has been one of eight members of the Presidential Steering Committee, which represents Allianz to the outside world. “The statement not only stands for the joint commitment, but also for the absolute conviction of the U7+ members that peace and freedom are the highest goods to be protected. That’s why we have to join our efforts, especially in view of the global political situation, and the universities have to act as a united front against violence, discrimination and aggression of any kind,” said Puhl about the declaration, which he signed on behalf of the University of Mannheim. “Research and teaching can and must work for a more peaceful and safer world, in that we universities act as drivers of innovation. As an educator of future leaders and political minds, it is the university’s duty to guide the next generation in maintaining – or restoring – peace and security globally,” Puhl continued. “Transnational university networks are valuable for the exchange among each other – the University of Mannheim benefits enormously from it, whether at the level of students, researchers or administration. But the networks are also an important means of ensuring that different national perspectives and concerns are reflected in the findings,
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