Announcement: Advocacy for academic freedom and human rights: internationalization in a fragmented world” 13-14 August 2026 (online/self-guided) and 17-21 August 2026 (in situ)

In this summer school we will discuss academic freedom and related human rights in an international perspective. Participants practice developing campaigns for academic freedom and related human rights, for example in support of an academic institution under threat or in support of an unjustly prosecuted academic. Academic freedom and the related human rights of students and scholars are acutely endangered in Europe and many places around the world. How can we ensure that universities remain -or become- places of free scientific enquiry and debate, academic solidarity, and (global) social responsibility? How can we, as members of the academic community, support students and scholars at risk?

Universities play a vital role in fostering inclusive dialogue, shape policy through research, and strenghten democratic institutions in our complex global landscape. In this course we will reflect on the meaning of universities in open societies, and how research and education academic build democratic resilience and counter disinformation.

During the summer school, we engage in discourses on academic freedom and related human rights in an international perspective and develop advocacy campaign to defend academic freedom, or in support of a unjustly prosecuted scholar.

Participants in this summer school will be able to critically analyze concepts of academic freedom, academic solidarity and academic responsibility as well as related human rights, comparing their interpretation across different (epistemic) cultures and in global perspective, and assess its importance in fostering intellectual and societal progress. In addition to this, participants gain insights into the different ways by which academic freedom and the human rights of scholars can be violated/constrained. Participants will be introduced to practical knowledge of the different tools and strategies available to protect and promote academic freedom, academic solidarity and (global) social responsibility as well as to human rights of at-risk students and scholars, on campus or elsewhere. Participants will get to know a number of the major European and international organisations and networks active in the field of promoting academic freedom and protecting students, scholars and universities at risk, such as the Scholars at Risk Network, the Magna Charta Observatory, or the New University in Exile Consortium. Participants will further develop professional skills to effectively and ethically plan, implement and assess human rights and public policy advocacy campaigns to protect and promote fundamental academic values and at-risk students, scholars and universities. Some essentials of social media campaigns, legal frameworks, communication strategies, and global networks will be introduced.

Core Focus and Highlights

• Advocacy Training: Equips participants with practical policy, legal framework, and social media tools to defend threatened academics.
  • Partner Networks: Features collaboration and engagement with major organizations including the Scholars at Risk Network and the Magna Charta Observatory.
• Target Audience: Open to Master’s and PhD students from Utrecht Network partner universities and CA23149 members alongside higher education professionals and institutional policy advisors.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course participants will have acquired:

• A detailed and critical knowledge about different interpretations of academic freedom at different times and across different regional and institutional contexts;
• An understanding of how different disciplines have contributed to the understanding of one of the key principles of higher education and democratic societies;
• The capacity to discuss the connections and interrelations between academic freedom, global social responsibility, as well as the academic freedom of expressions and other human rights of students and scholars;
• The capacity to discuss and compare different cases of violations of academic freedom the way they impact on students/researchers, the higher education communities and societies more broadly, and how violations differ between authoritarian and democratic contexts;
• Knowledge of the relevant EU/global policies, programmes, initiatives and institutions aiming at protecting academic freedom and the human rights of students/scholars at institutional, national and supranational levels;
• The capacity to link theory and practice through human rights and public policy advocacy research and practice.