Inspired by a profound desire for cultural co-operation, the Rector of the University of Bari and a group of University professors combined to lay the foundations for a stable union of University Cultural Institutions. This collaborative undertaking aimed to promote the civil and social development of peoples which, despite their wide geographical divergence, have always been united by slender but
enduring threads, not only due to geographical links but also of an ethical and religious nature. The Community of Mediterranean University (CMU) was thus set up in 1983, to generate a process of renewal and modernisation which would help its adhering members to overcome many serious problems. As the years passed, this process has continued by means of a series of initiatives that have met with such widespread support that the CMU now numbers over 160 members. The CMU, upholding the freedom of science and in order to contribute to peace, has the following aims:
1.to reaffirm and develop the role and function of culture and technological and scientific research in order to contribute to the solution of difficult and complex problems created by the development of the countries of the Mediterranean Area;
2.to promote scientific cooperation among the Mediterranean Universities, using the experience and resources of each University, while respecting the differences and the features of the several nationalities;
3.to set up permanent links among the above mentioned universities
through the reciprocal exchange of scientific and cultural experience and information of teaching staff and students;
4.to set up links among CMU and economic, industrial and local Institutions in the countries where at least one university is adhering.
