communities. The town was the birthplace of "The Talloires Declaration: University presidents for a Sustainable Future," an influential declaration on actions required by university leaders to reverse "environmental pollution and degradation, and the depletion of natural resources." Several conferences of the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University have been held in Talloires. Talloires was also the site of a September 2005 conference on university civic engagement. This conference of 29 university presidents produced the Talloires Declaration on the Civic Roles and Social Responsibilities of Higher Education, which calls upon the university to "use the processes of education and research to respond to, serve and strengthen its communities for local and global citizenship." The declaration established the Talloires Network, an association of universities committed to advancing the principles of the declaration. As of July 2012, 247 universities have signed the declaration and have become members of the Talloires Network. Tufts University maintains its European Center in the local 11th-century (former) Benedictine priory. The priory serves as a conference center and campus for visiting college students. Images See also Communes of the Haute-Savoie department References External links Official site Former communes of Haute-Savoie Populated places disestablished in 2016