ACADEMIC Freedom as HUMAN RIGHT

The 1988 Lima Declaration on Academic Freedom and Autonomy of Institutions of Higher Education defines academic freedom as “the freedom of members of the academic community, individually or collectively, in the pursuit, development and transmission of knowledge, through research, study, discussion, documentation, production, creation, teaching, lecturing and writing”. Such freedom is recognized as the precondition, sine qua non, for education, research, administration and service in independent universities and graduate institutions. 

Here, in the International Conference of Academic Freedom as A Human Right, we propose to discuss this definition, with two key areas of focus.

First, we will discuss the definition and historical responsibility of, as well as the meanings attributed to, academic freedom as a human right in Turkey, and in other parts of the world. This leads to the question, “Is academic freedom a basic human right?”

Second, we will discuss academic freedom in terms of its relation to power and academia. In this light, we will focus on the Turkish case of academic freedom (which in practice has rarely been much more than an aspiration), and explore the increasing pressures on universities across the world with the rise of authoritarian regimes. Here, our question is, “Who owns academia?”

We invite your participation in our panels, organized under several titles, and with contributions from academics and activists.

* Simultaneous translation will be available.