Clockwise from top-left: Nieves Tapia (Latin America Center for Service-Learning); Reeta Roy (MasterCard Foundation) and Cheryl de la Rey (University of Pretoria); Helen Zille (Premier of the Western Cape, South Africa); José Sanz (Autonomous University of Madrid), David Gutierrez (Santander Universities) and Tony Monaco (Tufts University).

University World News: The official media sponsor for TNLC 2014 covered our conference from beginning to end. UWN provided insightful coverage on topics such as the future of the Talloires Network, civic engagement as part of university rankings, student political activism on campus, and the Youth Economic Participation Initiative. Read More>>> [3]

TNLC Attendee Survey: In order to evaluate the conference and prepare for future events, we would like those who attended to complete a short survey. We value your feedback and ask that you complete the survey by Wednesday, December 31. Complete Survey>>> [4]

Call to Action: The last session during TNLC 2014 was dedicated to discussing a call to action for engaged universities. We are still in the process of finalizing the Call to Action text. If you have any feedback that you would like to provide, please send it to the TN Secretariat at [email protected] [5] by Wednesday, December 31. Please join us in taking steps to implement the Call to Action.

Leaders in the Civic Engagement Movement

This month’s edition of the Leaders in the Civic Engagement Movement series features three leaders from two universities in South Africa, site of the 2014 Talloires Network Leaders Conference. The University of the Witwatersrand and the University of Venda are engaged universities with innovative efforts to reach the communities around them. Read More>>> [6]

Ahead of TNLC 2014, the LCEM team published an aggregated report and slideshow summarizing the project up to last month. Read More>>> [7]

Partner Network News

The 2nd AsiaEngage Regional Conference, themed "Innovation and Creativity: Collaborating with Communities to Tackle Problems across ASEAN, Asia and Beyond" was successfully held in November 2014 in Bali, Indonesia. Slides from different presentations given during the conference are available online. Learn More>>> [8]

The Association of Commonwealth Universities has launched an online member platform called ACU Engage Community. It will delve into issues such as impact evaluation, communications, social responsibility, research uptake, public policy, and community relations. Learn More>>> [9]

On the 17th of June 2014, Campus Engage hosted 180 delegates from civil society organizations, higher education institutions and policy makers at a symposium, Campus-community partnerships: conversations for change, at Dublin Castle. Based on the roundtable conversations carried out during the event, a report has been released: "World Cafe National Consultation Report, 2014". Learn More>>> [10]

Talloires Network Programs and Announcements

Stories of University Civic Engagement from Around the World: Throughout the TNLC 2014, participants watched and discussed several short stories of university civic engagement programs. Created  by graduate students at Tufts University, the stories rely on visual information to describe the approaches and experience of Talloires Network member institutions from Asia, Africa, South America and North America. We welcome your feedback! While observing these visual stories, we invite you to respond with your comments, questions and suggestions by emailing Lorlene Hoyt [11]. Short stories are available in the Talloires Network's YouTube page [12].

The nomination form for the 2015 MacJannet Prize for Global Citizenship is now available. Nominations will be accepted until January 23, 2015.  No more than two nominations are allowed from each university. Programs must be at least two years old to be nominated, and nominations must be accompanied by a letter of support fromthe university head. Visit our website for more information or to download a nomination form. Learn More>>> [13]

Opportunities and Announcements

The UNESCO Chair of Community-Based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education invites you to participate in their survey, "Building the Next Generation of Community-Based Researchers". The purpose of this research is to gain an overview of teaching and training in Community-Based Research (CBR) in order to increase access to high quality learning opportunities in CBR for the Global South. Learn More>>> [14]

The Community University Partnership Programme (Cupp) at the University of Brighton announces a five day intensive course for those wanting to develop their skills in university community engagement with a six-month follow-up programme. The course is aimed at university managers, academics, lectures, administrators or brokers who are interested in the development of community- university partnerships. Learn More>>> [15]

Papers and Publications

In a collaboration between the UNESCO Chair in Community-Based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education and Ireland's Campus Engage, a new book has been released. The publication, titled "Higher Education and Community-Based Research: Creating a Global Vision", sets the historical background for current debates and engages the leaders in this field to create an imagination-driven agenda for transformation. Learn More>>> [16]

Reeta Roy of the MasterCard Foundation published an op-ed titled "Betting on Africa's Next-Generation Leaders". In it, she writes: "Much like the Talloires Network, The MasterCard Foundation believes that universities do not exist in isolation from society, nor from the communities in which they are located. They are, as Nature magazine writes, “beacons of social justice." Read More>>> [17]

Harry Boyte, head of the Center for Democracy and Citizenship at Augsburg College, has published a book titled "Democracy's Education: Public Work, Citizenship, and the Future of Colleges and Universities". The tome grows from the American Commonwealth Partnership, a year-long project to revitalize the democratic narrative of higher education. The collection brings world-famous scholars, senior government officials, and university presidents together with faculty, students, staff, community organizers, and intellectuals from across the United States and South Africa and Japan. Read More>>> [18]

Upcoming Events

The IMPACT Conference is historically the largest annual conference focused on the civic engagement of college students in community service, service-learning, community-based research, advocacy and other forms of social action. It will take place in Los Angeles, California February 19 to 22, 2015. Learn More>>> [19]

The Association of American Colleges and Universities invites you to the 2015 Diversity, Learning, and Student Success conference. Participants will explore critical questions and formulate action-oriented strategies to make excellence inclusive for all students through sustainable and measurable campus practices. Learn More>>> [20]