Ten Years with Scholars at Risk

“We have in recent years seen a growing questioning of truth, science, and democracy spreading across the world. There are authoritarian forces driving this, and it is deeply concerning. If political decision-makers threaten, undermine, or ignore research, then we in the university sector must stand up and defend these values,” says Vice-Chancellor Peter Aronsson.

The Academic Freedom Index is now in decline. Academic freedom has decreased in around 50 countries compared to ten years ago. It has increased in only nine countries, according to the latest update of the Academic Freedom Index.

“Yes, that is the case,” says Daniel Alvunger, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Internationalisation. “Scholars’ voices are being silenced. Researchers and certain fields of research are being punished, for example through the withdrawal of funding or by preventing the dissemination of results. Some researchers are also subjected to physical threats.”

Part of a global network

Linnaeus University is part of the global community of higher education institutions and organisations connected to higher education at local, regional, and global levels. Examples include Scholars at Risk (SAR), the European University Association (EUA), and the International Association of Universities (IAU). In recent years, Linnaeus University has taken a more active role in these networks.

“In this way, we as a university can contribute to global efforts—for example by drawing attention to situations in different parts of the world, exerting pressure, and highlighting shortcomings in larger structural systems,” Daniel continues. “This is also in line with the idea of academic citizenship and with Linnaeus University being part of a worldwide community of universities.”

During our ten years as a SAR member, we have hosted six international scholars who have found a safe haven with us for one year. Our scholars have come from Jordan, Iran, Afghanistan, Ukraine, and Yemen.

“By hosting SAR scholars, we as a university can support individual researchers in a very tangible and concrete way,” Daniel says. “It is a very direct and physical way of supporting vulnerable scholars so that they can continue their research.”

Daniel emphasises that alongside the research collaboration, there is also a moral and ethical dimension to this work:

“We help an individual person, while the scholar also contributes by giving us new perspectives—both through their research and through their background and experiences. It is important to remember that it can be difficult for a scholar to arrive at a new university, in a new country, and under completely different (temporary) conditions. Many scholars also carry heavy personal experiences with them.”

SAR scholars stay at the university for one year. What happens after that?

“Often the scholar continues at another institution,” Daniel explains. “We try to help them move on through our national or international networks. One of our former scholars, for example, is now a SAR scholar at Uppsala University.”

Conference on Democracy and Academic Freedom

On 12–13 May, Linnaeus University is organising the conference Building Peace and Democracy in Ukraine: Civil Society, Institutions, and Economic Restructuring in collaboration with Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. The conference will have one hub in Kyiv and one in Kalmar.

As part of the conference, Linnaeus University is hosting a thematic track on academic freedom and sustainable democracies, featuring around ten programme items. This track marks SAR Global’s 25th anniversary and is led by Pro Vice-Chancellor Daniel Alvunger.

“A large part of the track focuses on the situation in Ukraine, but there are also other programme items,” Daniel says, “where we take a global perspective and highlight academic freedom. For example, there will be a session where SAR scholars share their personal testimonies. These are important voices that need to be heard.”

Read more about Scholars At Risk

• To learn more about academic freedom, Amnesty International and SAR have recently launched a free online course. Read more about the course ‘Dangerous’ Questions: Why Academic Freedom Matters.

• Read more about Linnaeus University’s work with Scholars at Risk at the web site Lnu.se.

• The Swedish section (SAR Sweden) was founded in 2016 with its secretariat at the University of Gothenburg. The section currently has around 30 members, including Swedish higher education institutions, academies of science, research institutes, and trade unions.

• Scholars at Risk (SAR) is headquartered in New York, USA, and celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. SAR has more than 600 members from 45 countries.