Workshops
The Network for Education and Academic Rights (NEAR) has been working closely over the past few years with the Scholars at Risk Network (SAR) to defend the human rights of scholars and their communities around the world. Our structured workshop programme aims to bring together leading scholars, advocates and professionals to rethink issues of university autonomy and academic freedom. The workshops consist of structured discussions about university values - including access, accountability/transparency, academic freedom/quality, autonomy/good governance, and social responsibility. The dual aims of each event are to better understand the regional dimensions of these issues, while asking participants to inform and shape our on-going work to promote these values worldwide.
Bulletin
University Values is a quarterly bulletin containing articles and essays about international academic freedom, university autonomy and social responsibility.
Workshops, Symposiums and Conferences
Africa
Academic Freedom & Autonomy in West African Universities
Full Conference Report (15 April 2009)
Size: 354Kb
A symposium and workshop on Academic Freedom and University Autonomy in West African Universities was held at the University of Ghana on April 15-16, 2009. The event was co-hosted by Scholars at Risk, the University of Ghana, the Council for the Development of Social Science Rearch in Africa (CODESRIA), the West African Research Centre (WARC) and the Network for Education and Academic Rights (NEAR), with generous support from the Open Society Institute (OSI) and the Arcadia Trust. Representatives from Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali, Malaysia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, United Kingdom and the United States discussed questions of institutional autonomy and individual academic freedom in West Africa and beyond, with the goal of identifying suitable, practical approaches for promoting and defending these values.
Rethinking Academic Freedom in East African Universities
Full Conference Report (21 October 2008)
Size: 221Kb
The Network for Education and Academic Rights (NEAR) and the Scholars at Risk (SAR) Network held a conference and workshop on academic freedom in Addis Ababa that was organized in partnership with the Forum for Social Studies (FSS), the Organisation for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa (OSSREA) and the British Council. The workshop was supported by a grant from Foundation Open Society Institute (Zug). Faculty members and researchers from thirteen countries participated in the event, including representatives from Ethiopia, Ghana, Jordan, Kenya, Rwanda, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom and the United States.
Europe/Asia
Academic Freedom & University Autonomy in the Balkan, Black Sea & Caspian Regions
Summary Report (23 October 2009)
Size: 35Kb
Istanbul Bilgi University Human Rights Law Research Centre, the Network for Education and Academic Rights (NEAR) and the Scholars at Risk (SAR) Network held a symposium and workshop on ‘Academic Freedom and University Autonomy in the Balkan, Black Sea & Caspian Regions’ on October 23-24, 2009. The events were held at Istanbul Bilgi University and supported by grants from the Foundation Open Society Institute (Zug) and the Arcadia Fund. Faculty members, human rights leaders and researchers from sixteen countries participated in the event, including representatives from Afghanistan, Croatia, Kyrgyz Republic, Iraq, Iran, Romania, Ghana, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Moldova, Russia, Serbia, United Kingdom and United States.
Middle East
Academic Freedom in Arab Universities
Summary Report (31 March 2008)
Size: 51Kb
Scholars at Risk (SAR) and the Network for Education and Academic Rights (NEAR) held the first in a series of workshops on academic freedom in Amman, Jordan on March 31st, 2008. The workshop took place on the second day of a three day event organized in partnership with the Amman Center for Human Rights Studies (ACHRS) and host by the United Nations University (UNU) in Amman under the patronage of the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Jordan. Faculty and researchers from twenty-two universities (both public and private) across seventeen countries participated in the event. Representatives were present from Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Palestine, the Republic of Yemen, Russia, South Africa, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates.