In many parts of the world, academic freedom is at risk. The live podcasting series “Fragile Freedom” provides a platform for researchers who cannot freely pursue their work in their home countries to share their experiences. Their personal stories can and raise awareness about the challenges to academic freedom and underscore the importance of free research and teaching for democracy.
Further information on the project: https://fragile-freiheit.de/en/
The project is being carried out by the science communication agency con gressa in cooperation with the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research as part of the “Science Year 2024 – Freedom”.
We've teamed up with Scholars at Risk, a global network advocating for academic freedom and supporting threatened scholars, to bring you a special episode of their Free to Think podcast, featuring Iranian cosmologist Encieh Erfani.
In 2016, Eylem Camuroglu Cig took a stand by signing the “Peace Petition” which called for an end to violence in southeastern Turkey. President Erdoğan condemned the signatories as “terrorists”, leading to Camuroglu Cig loosing her job at the university. After the attempted coup in the summer of 2016, the political pressure intensified further. To escape persecution, Eylem Camuroglu Cig fled to Germany at the beginning of 2017. The Turkish government revoked her passport and numerous basic rights, and it is currently impossible for her to return. Nevertheless, Eylem Camuroglu Cig remains committed to academic freedom and critical thinking.
In...
Azadeh Ganjeh advocated for more academic freedom and the rights of her students as a professor in Tehran - despite growing political pressure. Her support for student activism and her critical stance against oppression came at a high price: the loss of her income, ongoing threats, and severe restrictions on her academic work. In 2022, she left her home country and came to Germany to continue her research and advocacy. Today, she works at the University of Hildesheim and HKS Ottersberg and remains passionately committed to academic freedom and diversity of opinion.
In this interview, conducted by Mareike Ilsemann, Azadeh...
The Taliban in Afghanistan are denying girls and women access to education and science. After the Taliban took power in August 2021, the security situation for female researchers deteriorated dramatically. Dr Suhailah Akbari, a legal scholar, was also directly threatened and had to leave the country with her two daughters. After enduring days of uncertainty and fear at Kabul airport, she managed to escape to Germany with the assistance of the German Bundeswehr, ultimately finding refuge there.