1. Higher Education as a public good is the responsibility of all stakeholders, especially governments.
2. Faced with the complexity of current and future global challenges, higher
education has the social responsibility to advance our understanding of multifaceted issues, which involve social, economic, scientific and cultural dimensions and our ability to respond to them. It should lead society in generating global knowledge to address global challenges, inter alia food security, climate change, water management, intercultural dialogue, renewable energy and public health.
3. Higher education institutions, through their core functions (research, teaching and service to the community) carried out in the context of institutional autonomy and academic freedom, should increase their interdisciplinary focus and promote critical thinking and active citizenship. This would contribute to sustainable development, peace, wellbeing and the realization of human rights, including gender equity.
4. Higher education must not only give solid skills for the present and future
world but must also contribute to the education of ethical citizens committed to the construction of peace, the defense of human rights and the values of democracy.
5. There is need for greater information, openness and transparency regarding the different missions and performance of individual institutions.
6. Autonomy is a necessary requirement for fulfilling institutional missions through quality, relevance, efficiency, transparency and social responsibility.
