The European Council of Doctoral Candidates and Junior Researchers (Eurodoc) has observed the ongoing protests in Iran since September 2022, and together with our partners at the International Consortium of Research Staff Associations (ICoRSA), Marie Curie Alumni Association (MCAA) and Young Academy of Europe (YAE), we are conducting a survey to collect information about the needs of scholars in Iran, Iranian scholars abroad, and scholars with other connections to Iranian academia.
We encourage the above-mentioned to help by filling out the fully anonymous survey, and everyone else to disseminate it in their research network.
As we wrote in February, we see across the world how researchers are being criminalised for nothing else but choosing a research field or topic that the authorities find unfavourable. We observe infringements on academic freedom, not only in Iran, but also in our close vicinity. However, we also acknowledge how research can serve as a tool for political and societal change, and how scholars are taking a risk to fight for rights of freedom and even basic human rights. It is important that we as researchers continue to bring awareness to the issue.
In this context, we identify a need for concrete support to researchers persecuted for their research activity by any authoritarian regime, and here specifically for concrete support to researchers in Iran. However, to be able to identify the most meaningful measures, we need the input of those affected.
Therefore, we are together with ICoRSA, MCAA and YAE conducting the above-mentioned survey.The input we receive through the survey will be used to inform our and our collaborators advocacy and support efforts. You can find the survey here.
If you wish to know more about situation, we can refer you to our earlier statement on the situation of researchers in Iran.