Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie
| Motto | Donnons toutes ses chances à l'excellence |
|---|---|
| Formation | 13 September 1961 |
| Type | Francophone network |
| Headquarters | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
|
Membership
|
812 university associations |
|
Official language
|
French |
| Leader |
 Jean-Paul de Gaudemar (since 2015) |
|
Budget
|
41,100,000 € (2013) |
| Website | http://www.auf.org |
The Agence universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) (Francophone University Association) is a global network of French-speaking higher-education and research institutions. Founded in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1961 as the Association des Universités Partiellement ou Entièrement de Langue Française (AUPELF), the AUF is a multilateral institution supporting co-operation and solidarity among French-speaking universities and institutions. It operates in the French-speaking countries of Africa, the Arab world, Southeast Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, and the Caribbean. The AUF has 812 members (public and private universities, institutes of higher education, research centers and institutions, institutional networks, and networks of university administrators) distributed throughout francophone countries. It is active in 104 countries, and represented by regional offices and information centers on campuses and in institutes. The Association receives funding from La Francophonie, and its headquarters are located at the Université de Montréal.
In 1959, Jean-Marc Léger (Canadian journalist at Le Devoir) and André Bachand (public-relations director at the University of Montreal) voiced the idea of a world-wide organisation which would create a link between French-speaking universities. On 13 September 1961 in Montreal, some 150 representatives of the French-speaking world created the foundation of what would become Association des Universités Partiellement ou Entièrement de Langue Française (AUPELF), French for the "Association of Partially or Entirely French-speaking Universities."
In 1987 during the heads of state summit in Quebec, an "exchange university" project was implemented under the name UREF (Université des Réseaux d'Expression Français, University French Expression Networks). Its purpose was to create a university network for research and education. In November 1993, AUPELF became AUPELF-UREF. In April 1998 in Beirut, AUPELF-UREF became the Agence universitaire de la Francophonie.
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