Academic Freedom, roots and realities

Magna Charta Observatory

What is academic freedom? Why is it important? Its roots & how these are being put into practice in universities around the world.

Much is spoken and written about academic freedom. It is one of the fundamental tenets of the Magna Charta Universitatum. It is under attack in various countries around the globe. Surveys have shown that many academics don’t know the policy of their university on academic freedom. So what are the roots of academic freedom, and how are universities to promote and preserve this fundamental right and responsibility in practice?

This webinar will look at what academic freedom is and why it is important. It will look at its roots in global documents and how these are being put into practice in universities around the world.

It will also focus on academic freedom from the perspectives of institutional leaders and academic staff.

SpeakersMilica Popović is a political scientist, specialized in Memory Studies, Political Sociology and Higher Education Studies. She has obtained her PhD in Comparative Political Sociology at the Doctoral School of Sciences Po Paris, affiliated with CERI (Center for International Studies) and at the Interdisciplinary doctoral programme in Balkan studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana. After finishing her BA studies in Law at the University of Belgrade in Serbia and MA studies in Political Science at the University Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas in France, Popović focused her academic research interests in the field of Memory Studies, looking into generational transmission of memory and the influences of memory and nostalgia onto the political identities.In parallel to her academic career and teaching experience at Sciences Po in Paris, Popović has extensive independent research and policy development experience in the field of Higher Education since 2003, designing and implementing various studies for the Council of Europe, the European Commission and many others. In the early 2000s, Popović has also worked for international organizations, including United Nations Development Programme, in the field of rule of law and judiciary reforms gaining experience in legal and institutional analyses.Julius Weinberg is a former Chair of Ofsted, the UK regulator for services that care for children and young people, and former Vice-Chancellor and President of Kingston University, London. Julius qualified in medicine from the University of Oxford. He completed specialist training as a physician in infectious diseases, general medicine and public health medicine. He worked within the NHS, in Zimbabwe and for WHO in Bosnia during the war. He has over 70 papers published in peer reviewed journals as well as edited books and book chapters. Julius was an expert adviser to House of Lords Select Committee inquiries into Infectious Disease Services in the UK and Pandemic Influenza. Julius is a believer in lifelong learning and besides his qualifications in Medicine, Physiology and Public Health he has Masters in Education, and in Psychology and a BA in Humanities with Art History. Julius has published articles on issues of free speech in the Guardian and for the Leadership Foundation in Higher EducationMaria Kronfeldner works in the philosophy of the sciences, integrating it with other approaches in science studies, and has published widely in these areas. She has been awarded The Karl Popper Essay Prize of the British Society for the Philosophy of Science and The Philosophical Quarterly International Essay Prize. From 2010 to 2014 she was Junior Professor at Bielefeld University. Earlier she held several fellowships, among them at the Max Planck Institute for History of Science in Berlin; at the Fishbein Center for History of Science and Medicine of the University of Chicago; at the Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh; and at the Sydney Centre for the Foundations of Science of the University of Sydney. She earned her PhD at the University of Regensburg in 2006.David Lock has been Secretary-General of the Magna Charta Observatory since 2014. He has led on the development and delivery of the MCO’s strategy including the globalisation of the Observatory’s work and the development of a self-evaluation instrument for university values. His career in international higher education and university leadership has included Director of International Projects at the UK’s Leadership Foundation for Higher Education where he was responsible for instigating and delivering projects with over 30 different countries, some at Governmental level. He was the founding Registrar and Acting Chief Executive of the British University in Dubai where he structured, built and then led the University following its legal creation by the Ruler of Dubai as a not-for-profit provider of Higher Education to UK standards. He was previously head of administration and secretary of two UK universities.

Programme1530 Welcome and introduction1535 Keynote address Milica PopovicGlobal approaches to conceptualizing academic freedom1555 Threats and responses to academic freedomJulius WeinbergMaria Kronfeldner 1625 Questions and discussion1655 Concluding remarks1700 Close of webinarGlobal Observatory on Academic FreedomThe Global Observatory on Academic Freedom is a project supported by the Open Society University Network (OSUN). It aims to conduct rigorous, innovative and pertinent scientific research aspiring to respond to the urgent need of rethinking the concept of academic freedom, a concept whose crisis we are witnessing throughout the world. New times pose new challenges, theoretical as much as empiric, and GOAF seeks to stimulate the debate, connect the interested stakeholders and reflect upon possible pathways vital to the preservation of academic freedom and democratic societies. GOAF responds to the need of universities to effectively pursue their duty of producing, transmitting and disseminating knowledge as a public good. Universities do not control their national regulatory frameworks, and this determines the degree of their institutional freedom and the professional freedoms of their academics and students, or the limitations on their distractors. They can, however, challenge public authorities to create conditions for academic freedom, they can take action, within limits that differ from country to country, to document infringements of academic freedom, resist restrictive attempts by governments and regulators, and find ways to promote, assert and protect academic freedom. As a globally networked platform, GOAF furthers the efforts of defining, promoting and defending academic freedom, while escaping the challenges that come with a national positioning. Promoting academic freedom as a cornerstone of higher education and of a democratic society, while addressing the need for better formulation of the concept of academic freedom on the individual and institutional level, GOAF engages in research and advocacy activities at a global level.

Closing date for bookings : 11 may 2022 at 9.00 CESTThere is no charge for this webinarThe webinar will be held on Zoom. The link will be sent the day of the webinar to the email used to register. Please check the correctness of your email on the form.

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Academic Freedom, roots and realities

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