ACA and DAAD are proudly announcing the Eberbach statement on “European Values in Higher Education” – written and signed by a number of scholars and academic policy makers.

In 2019, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) together with the Academic Cooperation Association (ACA) invited European higher education leaders, researchers and policy makers gathered at Eberbach Monastery in Germany to consider the state of the art of values in European higher education. The signatories of the resulting Eberbach Statement call on universities and politicians to create an environment in Europe, within every national higher education system and within each institution designed in such a way that, in the face of current challenges, they contribute to strengthening the European Higher Education Area, and at the same time a European identity. Higher education must both provide practical competences, skills and knowledge and help young people become mature and responsible citizens. At the same time, any higher education programme must strengthen the ability and willingness to engage in ethical reflection and critical analysis by imparting academic and research integrity.

Via the Eberbach Statement, the signatories support the aims of the Bologna Declaration. On 19 June 1999, the solemnly adopted text far-sightedly stated "A Europe of Knowledge is now widely recognised as an irreplaceable factor for social and human growth and as an indispensable component to consolidate and enrich the European citizenship, capable of giving its citizens the necessary competences to face the challenges of the new millennium, together with an awareness of shared values and belonging to a common social and cultural space”.


The Statement is available in pdf here.