ACUP participates in the Scholars at Risk (SAR) Global Congress 2018 in Berlin
The Scholars at Risk (SAR) Global Congress 2018 was convened on April 23-26 at Freie Universität Berlin (Germany) with the collaboration of the same university and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
ACUP and the Catalan public universities joined the international network in June 2017. Since then, both ACUP and the universities have carried out different activities related to higher education values, academic freedom and hosting refugees.
The Congress counted with more than 500 participants from around the world and presentations by outstanding figures such as Judith Butler (University of California, Berkeley), Susanne Baer (Federal Constitutional Court of Germany), Markus Hilgert (Director of the Near East, Pergamon Museum) and representatives of the Central European University (CEU) and the European University Association (EUA), among others.
During the Congress interesting debates aroused about the future of higher education and democracy, the state of academic freedom and freedom of expression in the world, as well as possibilities and opportunities to improve the situation and facilitate the continuity of professional careers for all those researchers and professors who cannot continue with their work in their countries of origin.
The event gave voice to representatives from different regions of the globe who spoke about the state of academic freedom and the difficulties in being able to carry out the academic profession freely. Participants could listen to testimonies from Egypt, Pakistan, China and Venezuela, but also from countries like Hungary and the United States. Relevant information was also provided to researchers and professors who seek opportunities in different countries, as well as cases of good practices, examples of host programs and recommendations for higher education institutions.
One of the parallel sessions of the Congress gave the opportunity to young leaders of student movements from South Africa, Egypt and Brazil to explain their visions and their experiences in their respective countries.
Finally, during the event the participants also had the opportunity to connect with colleagues from other institutions, and the researchers were able to present the results of their research in a poster session.
The SAR network awarded the “Courage to Think Award” to the Academics for Peace of Turkey for their extraordinary efforts in protecting freedom of thought and for publicly supporting a large number of Turkish academic colleagues who have been persecuted, imprisoned or dismissed due to their work, ideas and public opinion.
The new MOOC on Academic Freedom will be available on the Future Learn platform by June 4. You can register at the following link.
