The Erasmus+ project Support for the CG on Global Policy Dialogue – GLOBAL 2030, coordinated by UEFISCDI, was launched in July 2025 to support the work of the Coordination Group on Global Policy Dialogue within the Bologna Follow-up Group, co-chaired by Moldova, Italy and UNESCO. Running until June 2028, the project contributes to strengthening dialogue, cooperation, transparency and mutual trust between the European Higher Education Area and other countries, organisations and macro-regions.
Building on the global dimension of the Bologna Process, GLOBAL 2030 aims to provide structured support for the coordination of global policy dialogue in higher education. The project supports the organisation of 5 Coordination Group on Global Policy Dialogue (CG GPD) meetings (3 in person), facilitates collaboration with other macro-regions and contributes to the alignment of policy tools and approaches. It will also support the preparation and organisation of the Bologna Global Policy Forum 2027, to be held in Iași and Chișinău, as well as the development of the Global Policy Forum Statement.
The project consortium is coordinated by the Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation Funding – UEFISCDI and brings together the Ministry of Education and Research of Romania, the Ministry of Education and Research of the Republic of Moldova, CIMEA – NARIC Italy and EURASHE – European Association for the Applied Sciences in Higher Education. UNESCO is involved as an associated partner, contributing to the project’s wider international perspective.
Through its activities, GLOBAL 2030 will support the development of a roadmap for EHEA international cooperation in higher education beyond 2030, as well as the preparation of the final report of the Coordination Group on Global Policy Dialogue. The project will also organise three peer learning activities with macro-regional stakeholders, three webinars on global thematic priorities for wider stakeholders, and three reports on global developments in quality assurance, recognition and digitalisation. These outputs will feed into the preparation of the Bologna Global Policy Forum and the proposal for the Global Policy Forum Statement.
Since its launch, the project has already supported two peer learning activities organised in conjunction with the in person Coordination Group on Global Policy Dialogue meetings. The first peer learning activity, held on 29-30 September 2025 in Bucharest, Romania, focused on recognition and quality assurance, addressing synergies between regional frameworks and aiming to enhance dialogue at regional and global level. The activity brought together almost 100 participants from more than 40 countries, both in person and online.
The second peer learning activity, held on 17-18 February 2026 in Rome, Italy, focused on lifelong learning. It explored lifelong learning from the perspective of macro-regions of intergovernmental cooperation, including national approaches to implementation and recognition, as well as policy and regulatory frameworks as enabling factors for cooperation. Representatives from more than 40 countries participated, both in person and online.
An important step is to support the preparation of the Bologna Global Policy Forum 2027. The CG GPD has established a drafting group, coordinated by the CG GPD Co-Chairs, which is currently working on the proposal for the Global Policy Forum Statement. In this context, the project has supported the organisation of the first coordination meeting with macro-regions, which took place online on 13 May 2026, bringing together Presidents of Regional Recognition Conventions, regional higher education areas, quality assurance networks, higher education institutions’ associations, as well as international and regional organisations. The meeting focused on two key policy documents for the global policy dialogue in higher education: the first draft of the Global Policy Forum Statement, to be adopted in Iași and Chișinău in May 2027, and the outline of the Roadmap for international cooperation in higher education beyond 2030.
By facilitating dialogue with other macro-regions and international partners, GLOBAL 2030 aims to support a more coherent, transparent and forward-looking global policy dialogue in higher education. The project will contribute to the preparation of the next Bologna Global Policy Forum and to shaping the post-2030 perspective on international cooperation in higher education, in line with the priorities of the European Higher Education Area.