Dear All,
As the Committee on Scientific Freedom and Human Rights, we would like to share a couple events that you might be interested in:
Invitation to EnRoL! - The Human Rights & Rule of Law Speaker Series: Special Edition on Venezuela (12 February)
We like to invite you for the Special Edition on Venezuela of EnRoL! - The Human Rights & Rule of Law Speaker Series, which will take place on 12 February 2026, 4.00-5.00 p.m. (CET).
We are very honoured to have with us the Venezuelan feminist attorney and academic and visiting fellow at the T.M.C. Asser Institute Victoria Capriles. Her talk will focus on the systematic erosion of academic freedom in Venezuela, exploring how political interference, resource scarcity, and the disregard for institutional autonomy have transformed the country's higher education landscape.
Registration for the webinar is free and now open, here.
EnRoL! - The Human Rights & Rule of Law Speaker Series is the global speaker series for everyone interested in the latest developments in human rights and rule of law. We celebrate female role models, practitioners and scholars, who discuss with us human rights and rule of law matters from around the world.
Missed an event? Past events you can find now on our YouTube channel, here.
SAR & Amnesty launch new academic freedom course | International Day of Education 2026
Have you ever had a question that you wanted to ask but didn't because you were afraid of what might happen? Schools, universities, and other educational settings are meant to encourage open dialogue and discussion. But what happens when certain questions feel too risky to ask, even in these spaces?
I'm pleased to share that Scholars at Risk has partnered with Amnesty International to launch "Dangerous" Questions, Why Academic Freedom Matters, a new free, 90-min self-paced online course that will help you:
- Define academic freedom,
- Understand how academic freedom relates to other human rights and core higher education values,
- Understand why academic freedom matters not just to scholars, but to everyone
We are launching the course today, on UN International Day of Education, in recognition of the vital role of education in safeguarding human rights and democratic values. At a time when attacks on scholars, universities, and knowledge itself are growing, all of us are called to do more to defend our freedom to think, question, and share ideas.
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Please check out our course. Share it with others, especially students. Together, we can be better equipped to raise awareness, respond to threats, and defend academic freedom in our communities.
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Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions about the committee.
Umut Ozbek, Chair
Cathy Furlong, Vice Chair
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