Global Meeting of Associations 2025

24 October in Kigali, Rwanda

About the GMA:

Global Meetings of Associations (GMA) are held every two years. They are organized exclusively for leaders of national, regional and international associations/organizations of higher education institutions. They offer a unique opportunity for these leaders to meet as a relatively small group of peers to exchange ideas, practices and to network.

Host & Partner:

The 2025 GMA is hosted by and organised in partnership with the University of Rwanda.

Audience:

The GMA is exclusively open to senior representatives from national, regional and international IAU Member associations, organisations and networks. IAU Affiliate Members are also welcome at the GMA.

Format:

The GMA begins with a panel composed of representatives from regional and national associations from different regions of the world. The participants then have the opportunity to debate and exchange views. At the end of the day, the key outcomes of the discussions are presented in plenary in order to conclude the meeting and outlines the way forward until the next GMA in 2027.

IAU GMA 2019

GMA Programme (24 October 2025)

The topic of the 2025 GMA is the role of associations in building trust in higher education. The full concept note can be accessed here.

The GMA will begin with a keynote presentation by Prof. Olusola B. Oyewole, Secretary General of the African Association of Universities (AAU) who will present AAU’s work in building trust in higher education in the African regional context, among regional organizations, national government and society at large.

The keynote speech will be followed by a panel composed of representatives from associations from different regions of the world to discuss how building trust in higher education takes different forms in different contexts. The panel will showcase how such building of trust is an integral part of each association’s work and how such work contributes to fostering trust in the higher education sector.

After the panel presentations, participants will have the opportunity to debate and exchange views with the panellists and among themselves. At the end of the day, key outcomes of the discussions will be summarized to conclude the meeting and outline the way forward.

GMA Programme, Friday 24 October 2025
09:00 - 09:30	Welcome and introduction
09:30 - 10:30	Keynote speech by Olusola Oyewole, Secretary General, African Association of Universities
10:30 - 11:00	Coffee break
11:00 - 12:00	Panel discussion I: The role of associations in building societies' trust in higher education
12:30 - 14:00	Lunch
14:00 - 15:30	Panel discussion II: The role of associations in building governments' trust in higher education
15:30 - 16:00	Coffee break
16:00 - 17:00	Summary of main discussion points, conclusions and identification of future joint action

PREVIOUS GMAS

IAU provides a special forum for its organizational Members: the Global Meeting of Associations (GMA). It is a meeting exclusively for leaders of national, regional and international higher education associations and organizations. The GMA offers a unique opportunity to meet and network, as well as exchange ideas and best practices among peers for mutual learning. These in-depth interactions boost international cooperation and help develop important joint initiativesfor the higher education sector and society at large.

The GMA is an in-person event and convenes every two years in conjunction with the IAU International Conferences, rotating from one region of the world to the next In addition, the GMA convenes online on a regular basis throughout the year.