The Faith and Globalisation Network of Universities (FGNU) is an international group of universities created in 2008 by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair

Tony Blair

Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...

 and his Faith Foundation

Tony Blair Faith Foundation

The Tony Blair Faith Foundation was established by Tony Blair in May 2008.-The Foundation:The Foundation was launched in May 2008 in New York at the headquarters of media group Time Warner. In his speech Blair outlined its aim that "idealism becomes the new realism", and that one of its goals was...

.
The Faith and Globalisation initiative

Faith and Globalisation initiative

The Faith and Globalisation Initiative launched in Yale University in September 2008 is an attempt by Tony Blair and his Tony Blair Faith Foundation to build a "global conversation" between an "elite group" of universities. The first result of the initiative was a semester long course on faith and...

 is "bringing together some of the world’s leading research Universities to form a global network focusing on the emerging field of faith and globalisation".
There are currently eight Universities which form part of this network: Yale University

Yale University

Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

, the National University of Singapore

National University of Singapore

The National University of Singapore is Singapore's oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered....

, Durham University

Durham University

The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...

, McGill University

McGill University

Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...

, Tecnológico de Monterrey, the University of Western Australia

University of Western Australia

The University of Western Australia was established by an Act of the Western Australian Parliament in February 1911, and began teaching students for the first time in 1913. It is the oldest university in the state of Western Australia and the only university in the state to be a member of the...

, Peking University

Peking University

Peking University , colloquially known in Chinese as Beida , is a major research university located in Beijing, China, and a member of the C9 League. It is the first established modern national university of China. It was founded as Imperial University of Peking in 1898 as a replacement of the...

 and Fourah Bay College

Fourah Bay College

Fourah Bay College is the oldest university college in West Africa. It is located atop Mount Aureol in Freetown, Sierra Leone...

. The Foundation is aiming to create a group of approximately 12 universities and is looking at future partners in India, the Middle East and Europe.

History and Key Objectives

In 2008 Yale University was the first university the Foundation

Tony Blair Faith Foundation

The Tony Blair Faith Foundation was established by Tony Blair in May 2008.-The Foundation:The Foundation was launched in May 2008 in New York at the headquarters of media group Time Warner. In his speech Blair outlined its aim that "idealism becomes the new realism", and that one of its goals was...

 started working with and in 10 months it expanded the network to include the National University of Singapore, Durham University and McGill University. Two years later the Foundation developed an associate university programme for those who cannot be offered full membership of the initiative.

There are currently three "hub universities" (Yale

Yale University

Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

, Durham

Durham University

The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...

 and NUS

National University of Singapore

The National University of Singapore is Singapore's oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered....

), five "partner universities" and two "associate universities" according to the Foundation's website. The Faith Foundation is in advanced discussions with other universities in Australia and China and will shortly look to expand the network to incorporate a South American, African, Indian and Gulf University.

The institutions were selected on the basis of their ability to contribute to the Initiative, but also to ensure that they have a geographic and cultural spread that lends multiple perspectives to the discipline.

Key objectives of the Network are the following:

• generate and share new research about the role of religion in the contemporary global context;
• organise events involving participants from the world of politics, academia, business and religion to discuss the various interfaces between religion and public life in our time;
• offer multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary higher education courses for their students and share resources among the participating universities;
• support the implementation and development of the Foundation's Face to Faith and Faiths Act projects.

Universities

As of January 2011 the participating members of the Faith and Globalisation Network of Universities are:

No	Member	Member Status	Country	Year Joined
1	Yale University Yale University Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...	Hub University in America	United States	2008
2	National University of Singapore National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore is Singapore's oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered....	Hub University in Asia	Singapore	2008
3	Durham University Durham University The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...	Hub University in Europe		2009
4	McGill University McGill University Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...	Partner University in Canada	Canada	2010
5	Tecnológico de Monterrey	Partner University in South America	Mexico	2010
6	University of Western Australia University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia was established by an Act of the Western Australian Parliament in February 1911, and began teaching students for the first time in 1913. It is the oldest university in the state of Western Australia and the only university in the state to be a member of the...	Partner University in Australia	Australia	2010
7	Peking University Peking University Peking University , colloquially known in Chinese as Beida , is a major research university located in Beijing, China, and a member of the C9 League. It is the first established modern national university of China. It was founded as Imperial University of Peking in 1898 as a replacement of the...	Partner University in China	Mainland China	2010
8	Fourah Bay College Fourah Bay College Fourah Bay College is the oldest university college in West Africa. It is located atop Mount Aureol in Freetown, Sierra Leone...	Partner University in West Africa	Sierra Leone	2010
9	Wheaton College (Illinois) Wheaton College (Illinois) Wheaton College is a private, evangelical Protestant liberal arts college in Wheaton, Illinois, a suburb west of Chicago in the United States...	Associate University in America	United States	2010
10	Higher Colleges of Technology Higher Colleges of Technology The Higher Colleges of Technology was established in 1988, and is the largest institution of higher learning in the United Arab Emirates with over 19,000 students. During the 2011 - 2012 academic year there were 12,217 female and 7,298 male students enrolled at 17 campuses and 92 programs...	Associate University in Middle East	United Arab Emirates	2010

External links

• The Tony Blair Faith Foundation