At the Barcelona Conference in 1995, 15 Member States of the European Union and 12 countries of the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean laid the foundations for a renewed Euro-Mediterranean partnership.
This process was a comprehensive approach, not only economic but also political, social and cultural; the strategic objective of this partnership is to ensure the long-term peace, stability and prosperity of the Euro-Mediterranean area.
In this context, the Consortium of Euro-Mediterranean Universities TETHYS was created on January 28th 2000 by 22 universities from around the Mediterranean.
TETHYS is a network led by Aix-Marseille University and currently includes 61 universities from 19 countries. It brings together the main universities of the Maghreb, the Mashreq and the countries of southern Europe. The agreement was renewed in 2017 and is valid until 2021.
This partnership makes it possible to undertake large-scale networking actions with the support of national and European programmes. All this contributes to promoting an active policy of international cooperation at European level but also at global level and allows the academic community to be perfectly visible on the Euro-Mediterranean area. TETHYS is a place of exchange and sharing, a place of conviviality that we must preserve for a sustainable future in the Mediterranean.
Mission
- To build a place for cultural and scientific exchanges that will make a strong and sustainable contribution to the construction of Euro-Mediterranean Higher Education, Research and Innovation Area.
- Foster cooperation between Euro-Mediterranean countries through knowledge sharing, harmonization of knowledge and exchange of cultures.
- Develop "win-win" partnerships between the North, South and East of the Mediterranean.
