Scholars at Risk

Missed last week’s webinar with SAR and KTH Royal Institute of Technology? A recording of their conversation on and the worrying attacks on and democracy can be watched here:

Free to Think 2025 – Seminar series Democracy and Academic Freedom | KTH Free to Think is Scholars at Risk’s annual report on threats to academic freedom. This seminar presents the key findings from the 2025 edition, recent global trends in attacks on higher education, and the crucial connections between academic freed...

The recent drone strikes on Kordofan University in has led to the destruction of infrastructure, the displacement and killings of students, and has been condemned as a “direct assault on science, knowledge and the students’ right to pursue safe and stable education.” Read more about the educational and humanitarian crisis unfolding in Sudan from World News here:

Condemnation as universities in Darfur come under attack Sudan’s Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research has condemned the drone strikes on Kordofan University in El-Obeid, the capital of Nort...

On Friday, March 6 from 12:10 - 13:00, join KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Amy Kapit, SAR’s Senior Program Officer on the Advocacy Team, to discuss the report! This seminar will explore global attacks on and the critical links between and democracy. Join here:

Free to Think 2025 – Seminar series Democracy and Academic Freedom | KTH Free to Think is Scholars at Risk’s annual report on threats to academic freedom. This seminar presents the key findings from the 2025 edition, recent global trends in attacks on higher education, and the crucial connections between academic freed...

“My backpack was ready because at that time my students and I had a feeling about this invasion happening soon.”

Dr. Halyna Tsyhanenko describes fleeing war in in March 2022, accepting an academic placement coordinated by SAR member institution University of Basel, and her subsequent research into the social inclusion of Ukrainian refugees.

Between Risk and Research Dr. Halyna Tsyhanenko fled Ukraine for Switzerland in 2022, and settling in was challenging. With support from the international network «Scholars at Risk» (SAR), she joined the University of Basel, where she was able to continue her social psychology research for two years. In this interview, she...

Congratulations to the Student Advocacy Seminar students at Monash University, for being a Future Builder Award Finalist! The award honors the students’ real-world advocacy campaigns for scholars and for their commitment to learning about and defending and human rights. Learn more:
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/special-reports/shaping-australia/helping-clear-roads-to-freedom/news-story/f6c7d4f40cac633d44db263a67b41b4e

How does war reshape the built environment—and the cultural memory it holds?

Join us at the University of Chicago for a lecture by SAR-supported scholar Dr. Oksana Chabanyuk on the destruction of Ukraine’s architectural heritage during four years of war.

Register for Zoom link:

Oksana Chabanyuk - Architectural Heritage in Ukraine Under Four Years of Wartime Destruction | The Center for East European and Russian/Eurasian Studies Thu, 03/05/2026 - 16:30 Saieh Hall, Room 247, 5757 S. University Ave. The fourth year of the Russian war against Ukraine caused massive destruction of the built environment in the Ukrainian cities, including severe damage to architectural heritage as cultural monuments of the nation. The lecture pro...

Join us! SAR is holding a webinar tomorrow March 5 at 1pm EST to share key insights from our newly released 2025 Scholar Survey! We'll discuss the survey results, lessons we can learn from one another, and ways to respond to the recommendations in this report. Your input matters!

Register here: https://ow.ly/A4lI50XVIR8

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Scholars at Risk: 2025 Scholar Survey Discussion. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. Scholars at Risk is pleased to share our 2025 Scholar Survey report, detailing the reflections from over 300 scholars and practitioners on their experiences working with the SAR network! The report illuminates the value of SAR’s work in creating academic opportunities of refuge, while also underli...

Following the outbreak of military conflict in , staff from Evin Prison have reportedly fled. At Evin Prison—where scholar Dr. Ahmadreza Djalai has been held since 2016—food distribution, basic services, and all contact with his wife have ceased. The abandonment and total disregard for the wellbeing of Dr. Djalali is deeply disturbing. The Swedish government must act to help and ensure wrongfully detained scholars like him are not forgotten amidst the political chaos in . Learn more:
https://www.tv4.se/artikel/44AB8a6QQtMC1DRmABONEs/rapporter-om-kaos-i-faengelser-djalalis-fru-mycket-orolig

now: https://www.scholarsatrisk.org/action/scholars-in-prison-project/

Rapporter om kaos i Evinfängelset – Djalalis situation oklar Evinfängelset uppges ha kollapsat. Vida Djalali saknar besked om hennes man Ahmadreza Djalali. Det finns oro för matbrist och kaos, enligt TT.

A new feature from the University of Ottawa highlights its decade-long commitment to hosting and supporting scholars through the Scholars at Risk (SAR) network. By providing safe academic placements, uOttawa is helping defend academic freedom and strengthen democracy.

Learn more about the impact of the SAR uOttawa Program: https://ow.ly/fj0N50YoG5y

Scholars at Risk program places uOttawa on the front lines of academic freedom | University of Ottawa Scholars whose work challenges repressive regimes or who push to express themselves freely risk sanctions, surveillance and expulsion. Their work may be censored, their equipment seized and travel restricted. Some are imprisoned or exiled, even killed.Pressure on academic freedom isn’t limited to ...

Tomorrow! Join us for a webinar on Wednesday, March 4 at 12 PM EST to explore how human rights, academic, and democracy networks are fighting back against systemic attacks on academic freedom in Brazil.

Between 2019 and 2022, Brazil’s academic community faced systemic attacks on university autonomy and scholars’ safety. Despite mounting pressure, academic networks organized, mobilized, and fought back.

Join Scholars at Risk (SAR) and the Coalition for Academic Freedom in the Americas (CAFA) tomorrow on Wednesday, March 4 at 12:00 PM EST (14:00 BRT) for an important conversation on “Strategies of Resistance: Lessons Learned from the Defence of Academic Freedom and Democracy in Brazil.”

This webinar will dive into practical solutions for resisting democratic erosion and defending the freedom to think, guest-led by top experts in the field.

🎙️ Featured Speakers:
• Conrado Hübner Mendes (University of São Paulo)
• Flávia Pellegrino (Pacto pela Democracia)
• Moderated by: Kim Lane Scheppele (Princeton University)

🗓️ Event Details:
• Date: Wednesday, March 4
• Time: 12:00 PM EST / 14:00 BRT
• Language: Interpretation available in English, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Register here:

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Strategies of Resistance: Lessons Learned from the Defence of Academic Freedom and Democracy in Brazil. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. Join Scholars at Risk (SAR) and the Coalition for Academic Freedom (CAFA) on Wednesday, March 4th at 12 PM EST/ 14:00 BRT for a discussion on defending academic freedom in Brazil and beyond! Between 2019 and 2022, Brazil faced a severe erosion of democratic norms, marked by systematic attacks on uni...

To mark SAR's 25th anniversary year, member institution Royal Society Te Apārangi convened a panel of expert speakers from the International Science Council's Committee for Freedom and Responsibility in Science (CFRS) to discuss "...declining trust in institutions around the world and human rights related to science."

The conversation examined the intersection of human rights and science, exploring the Committee’s work to progress equity and academic freedom for women and environmental scientists, as well as advocacy in times of war and political disruption.

Learn more and view the panel recordings: https://council.science/blog/scientific-freedom-as-a-human-right/

Many thanks to our colleagues in Aotearoa New Zealand!

Scientific freedom as a human right: Insights from the dedicated ISC meeting in Aotearoa New Zealand - International Science Council As the world marks International Human Rights Day, the International Science Council (ISC) underscores that scientific freedom and the right to participate in and benefit from science are core human rights.

🗓️ Join SAR on March 5 at 1 pm EST for a webinar to discuss SAR's recently published 2025 Scholar Survey results!

The discussion will feature key highlights and insights, and explore how to apply scholar important recommendations. We look forward to having further conversations with scholars, practitioners, and the wider network in order to further strengthen the work we do.

Register here:

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Scholars at Risk: 2025 Scholar Survey Discussion. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. Scholars at Risk is pleased to share our 2025 Scholar Survey report, detailing the reflections from over 300 scholars and practitioners on their experiences working with the SAR network! The report illuminates the value of SAR’s work in creating academic opportunities of refuge, while also underli...