ALLEA, the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities, has recently released the following statement “ALLEA statement on threats to Academic Freedom and International Research Collaboration in the United States” this month. In the statement, ALLEA writes
We therefore encourage our members, partners, and like-minded organisations, and urge national governments and international institutions in the U.S., Europe and beyond to remain vigilant and strengthen ongoing efforts to safeguard academic freedom and the autonomy of scientific institutions, committing to actions and measures adopted through inter-institutional and supranational agreements in Europe and globally.
In Eurodoc, we share ALLEA’s concerns about the threats to academic freedom in Europe and globally and equally share their encouragement to the research community to strengthen our efforts to safeguard academic freedom and institutional autonomy of scientific institutions.
Furthermore, we urge the community to vocally draw attention to these threats when engaging with their respective national and international political stakeholders as well as to strengthen the discourse on academic freedom and the importance of research collaboration within their own institutions. Still too few academics are fully informed on the concrete meaning and foundational importance of academic freedom to their work as researchers and educators. Fewer still are aware of the institutional and legal frameworks for academic freedom in the respective contexts they work in. We can, however, only safeguard academic freedom if it is not simply taken for granted but actively protected.
The board of Eurodoc 2024/2025
- Pil Maria Saugmann, 0000-0002-3548-0134
- Nicola Dengo, 0000-0003-2534-7265
- Manca Lunder, 0009-0005-4249-3979
- Hannah Schoch, 0000-0002-3987-4106
- Norbert Bencze, 0000-0001-7108-5329
- Karl Kilbo Edlund, 0000-0001-7586-4119
- Magali Weissgerber, 0000-0002-2999-055X
Date of Publication: 23.02.2025
Contact: Eurodoc Board board@eurodoc.net
Eurodoc, the European Council of Doctoral Candidates and Junior Researchers, is a grassroots federation of 26 national associations of early career researchers (ECRs) from 24 countries across Europe. Eurodoc was established in 2002 and is based in Brussels. As a representative of doctoral candidates and junior researchers at the European level, Eurodoc engages with all major stakeholders in research, higher education, and innovation in Europe.