Universities provide excellent environments to foster intercultural learning and competence which embraces diversity, treasures differences and is necessary for graduates to thrive in a globalised world. It enhances their appreciation and respect for the other and leads to a more forceful commitment to human rights, democracy, the rule of law, and building peace. The IAU 2023 Intercultural Conference will explore how universities around the world promote and support intercultural learning and dialogue, the impact geopolitics is having on this goal, and the broader implications it has for our society

Universities are traditional and modern, conservative and progressive, inclusive and exclusive. Universities have no boundaries, they are institutions of tremendous power that transcend geographical, social, and cultural limits. Over centuries of existence, they have adapted to externally imposed regulations, norms and pressures and have been responsive to societal expectations and changes in their environment. Their conceptual space is the global landscape of knowledge and ideas. Even when faced with limited financial resources, universities operate from a position of intellectual abundance. Universities are uniquely placed to propose solutions and develop opportunities. They are called to actively shape the local and global agendas as agents of change.